HEROES  OF  THE 
CHURCH 


By  Park  Hays  Miller 


BR 

1704 
.M5 
1922 


PHILADELPHIA 

THE  WESTMINSTER  PRESS 

1922 


IXX 


rajx 


?yyxx)Q 


BR  1704  .M5  1922 
Miller,  Park  Hays,  1879 
Heroes  of  the  church 


V 


Heroes  of  the 
Church 


By  Park  Hays  Miller 


Philadelphia 

The  Westminster  Press 

1922 


Copyright,   1922 

By  the  Trustees  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication  and 

Sabbath  School  Work 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America 


/ 


TO  THE  CLASS  OF  BOYS 

IN  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  OF  THE  NINTH  PRESBYTERIAN 

CHURCH,    PHILADELPHIA,   WHOSE   COOPERATION   MADE   THE 

PREPARATION  OF   THIS  MATERIAL  A  PLEASURE,   THIS  BOOK   IS 

GRATEFULLY   DEDICATED 


FOREWORD 

In  April,  May,  and  June,  1922,  a  series  of  twelve  lessons 
on  "Later  Christian  Leaders"  appeared  as  a  part  of  the 
Intermediate  Departmental  Graded  Lessons.  These  lessons 
were  prepared  with  the  purpose  of  filling  the  gap  in  his- 
tory between  the  Apostolic  Church  and  the  Church  of  to- 
day. They  were  planned  also  to  give  to  members  of  the 
Church  to-day  convictions  concerning  the  true  foundation 
of  the  Protestant  faith. 

Interest  in  these  lessons  on  the  part  of  parents  of  Inter- 
mediate pupils  in  the  Sunday  school  and  the  request  for  this 
material  in  permanent  form  have  led  to  the  printing  of  this 
book,  with  the  omission  of  those  features  which  marked  the 
chapters  as  lessons. 

The  writer  will  rejoice  if  these  biographies,  prepared  for 
Sunday-school  use,  reach  a  larger  circle  of  readers. 

P.  H.  M. 

Philadelphia,  July  1,  1922. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Chapter         I.  Polycarp   9 

Chapter       II.  Augustine 15 

Chapter      III.  Bernard  of  Clairvaux 21 

Chapter      IV.  John  Wyclif 27 

Chapter        V.  John  Huss 32 

Chapter      VI.  Martin  Luther 38 

Chapter    VII.  Ulrich  Zwingli   43 

Chapter  VIII.  John  Calvin 48 

Chapter      IX.  John  Knox 54 

Chapter       X.  John  Wesley 58 

Chapter      XI.  Francis  Makemie 62 

Chapter    XII.  William  A.  Shedd 67 


POLYCARP 


Chapter  I 
POLYCARP 

IF  ho  Confessed  Christ  in  the  Arena 
(Died  probably  either  a.d.  155  or  166) 

In  the  year  A.D.  166  the  city  of  Smyrna  was  in  an  up- 
roar. The  city  was  under  Roman  authority  and  the  Roman 
officers  were  having  their  hands  full  maintaining  peace  and 
order.  During  the  absence  of  Polycarp,  the  Christian  bishop 
of  Smyrna  and  the  surrounding  country,  who  had  been  on  a 
visit  to  Rome,  bitter  enmity  against  the  Christians  had  been 
stirred  up,  and  the  populace  was  wild  with  excitement.  Be- 
cause it  was  supposed  that  the  Christians  were  disloyal  to 
Caesar,  those  who  looked  upon  themselves  as  especially  loyal 
to  the  emperor,  cried,  "Death  to  the  Christians!"  Then  some 
one  started  the  cry,  "Let  Polycarp  be  brought  out!" 

The  Christians  believed  they  must  be  ready  to  die  for 
their  faith,  if  need  be,  but  they  felt  that  they  must  not  run 
needlessly  into  danger.  So  they  persuaded  Polycarp,  their 
beloved  bishop,  who  was  nearly  ninety  years  old,  if  not 
older,  to  leave  the  city  and  remain  for  a  time  in  seclusion. 

But  one  day,  as  evening  drew  near,  he  heard  the  sound  of 
a  cavalcade  and  the  rattle  of  chariot  wheels.  One  of  Poly- 
carp's  servants  had  betrayed  his  master  and  the  Roman 
officers  were  at  the  door.  Frightened  friends  brought  word 
to  the  old  man  that  he  must  flee,  but  he  replied,  "The  will 
of  God  be  done." 

Unwaveringly  he  went  to  meet  those  who  had  come  to 
take  him.  He  set  food  before  them  and  asked  that  he  be 
permitted  to  spend  the  time  in  prayer  while  they  ate.  Think- 
ing only  of  the  cause  of  Christ  to  which  he  had  given  his 
life,  Polycarp  prayed  for  the  Christians  and  for  the  churches. 
Then,  at  the  appointed  time,  he  announced  that  he  was  ready 
to  go. 

9 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


ON  THE  ROAD  TO  SMYRNA 

Polycarp  was  permitted  to  ride  upon  a  donkey  and,  with 
the  horsemen  acting  as  guards,  the  journey  to  Smyrna  was 
begun.  The  irenarch,  or  Roman  peace  officer,  who  had  come 
to  arrest  Polycarp,  could  not  help  feeling  respect  for  this  old 
man  who  exhibited  such  courage.  Besides,  it  was  the  ire- 
narch's  business,  if  possible,  to  persuade  the  Christians  to 
renounce  their  faith  in  Jesus  and  to  worship  the  statue  of 
the  emperor,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  Romans.  So  he 
invited  Polycarp  into  his  chariot,  and  as  they  rode  the 
irenarch  said,  "What  harm  is  there  in  saying,  'Lord  Caesar,' 
and  in  sacrificing,  with  other  ceremonies  observed  on  such 
occasions,  and  so  make  sure  of  safety?" 

At  first  Polycarp  gave  no  answer.  It  is  hard  for  us  to 
imagine  the  thoughts  which  might  have  come  into  the  old 
man's  mind  as  he  listened  to  the  irenarch's  words.  Why  not 
save  his  life  by  renouncing  his  faith  in  Jesus? 

Perhaps  he  thought  of  his  boyhood  and  of  his  Christian 
home.  How  different  was  the  home  where  Christ  was  wor- 
shiped from  the  home  of  the  pagan;  for  in  the  homes  where 
Christ  was  worshiped  there  was  unselfishness  and  love. 

Then  no  doubt  he  remembered  how,  when  he  was  a  boy, 
John  the  apostle,  who  for  a  long  time  was  the  leader  of  the 
church  in  Ephesus,  had  come  to  his  town.  He  listened  to 
the  apostle,  who  had  himself  seen  the  Lord  and  had  listened 
to  his  teaching.  From  the  apostle's  own  lips  he  had  heard 
the  story  of  the  wonderful  works  and  the  wonderful  words 
of  Jesus.  These  words  were  written  in  his  heart;  he  could 
never  forget  them. 

Then  Polycarp  must  have  thought  of  his  long  life  spent 
in  the  service  of  Jesus.  He  had  preached  the  gospel  and  had 
seen  men  changed  by  the  message  of  the  Saviour. 

He  remembered,  too,  how  he  had  become  a  leader  in  the 
Church  and  had  been  ordained  a  minister  of  Jesus,  and  then 
had  been  made  bishop  of  the  church  in  the  district  of  which 
Smyrna  was  the  chief  city.     He  had  promised  to  hold  fast 

10 


POLYCARP 


to  the  truth  of  the  gospel.  How  could  he  now  break  his 
word,  even  to  save  his  own  life? 

Paul,  the  great  apostle,  had  taught  in  Ephesus,  the  city  to 
the  south,  from  which  the  Christian  faith  had  been  carried 
to  Smyrna,  and  the  Christians  of  Smyrna  knew  by  heart 
the  famous  letters  of  this  apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  Polycarp 
must  have  thought  of  how  undaunted  Paul  had  been  when 
he  faced  death  in  the  service  of  Christ. 

Then,  too,  Polycarp  had  just  come  back  from  Rome,  where 
he  had  gone  to  confer  with  Bishop  Anicetus  in  the  interests 
of  the  Church.  What  would  his  friend,  Anicetus,  think  if 
Polycarp  should  waver  now  in  his  loyalty  to  Christ? 

But  uppermost  in  the  mind  of  Polycarp  was  the  thought 
of  Jesus,  who  had  set  his  face  steadfastly  to  go  to  Jerusalem 
where  he  knew  that  he  was  to  be  crucified.  And  Polycarp 
knew  by  heart  the  message  that  Jesus  had  given  his  beloved 
John  for  the  church  in  Smyrna,  Rev.  2:  8-11,  especially  the 
words,  "Be  thou  faithful  unto  death,  and  I  will  give  thee  the 
crown  of  life." 

So  when  the  irenarch  urged  Polycarp  to  renounce  Jesus 
and  offer  sacrifice  to  the  emperor,  he  shook  his  head,  "I  shall 
not  do  as  you  advise  me."  The  Roman  officer  could  not 
understand  the  conduct-  of  this  Christian.  The  Romans  be- 
lieved in  many  gods,  and  it  was  a  simple  matter  for  them  to 
add  another  god  to  the  list.  And  here  was  a  man  who  was 
stubborn  enough  to  insist  that  there  was  but  one  God,  and 
who  refused  to  acknowledge  any  other.  In  Smyrna  a  temple 
in  honor  of  Emperor  Tiberius  and  his  mother  had  been 
erected,  but  these  Christians  refused  to  worship  the  emper- 
or's statute.  In  anger  the  irenarch  hurled  the  old  man  from 
his  chariot.  Polycarp  was  injured,  but,  ignoring  the  pain, 
he  followed  to  the  city. 

IN  THE  ARENA 
Smyrna  had  its  stadium,  as  had  many  cities  of  that  day, 
no  doubt  copied  after  the  great  stadiums  of  the  Greeks  and 

11 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


after  the  arena  at  Rome  where  gladiators  fought  with  one 
another  or  with  wild  beasts,  and  where,  in  the  days  of  Nero, 
Christians  were  tortured,  and  put  to  death.  When  Polycarp 
reached  the  entrance  to  the  stadium,  words  came  to  his  mind 
that  made  him  lift  his  head  with  fresh  courage:  "Be  strong, 
and  show  thyself  a  man,  0  Polycarp."  Had  not  God  him- 
self sent  this  message  to  him? 

The  proconsul  endeavored  to  persuade  Polycarp  to  re- 
nounce his  faith  in  Christ.  "Swear,  and  I  will  set  thee  at 
liberty,"  urged  the  proconsul.  "Reproach  Christ."  But 
Polycarp,  unmoved  by  the  persuasion  of  the  proconsul  and 
by  the  shouts  of  the  multitudes,  replied,  "Eighty  and  six 
years  have  I  served  him,  and  he  never  did  me  an  injury; 
how,  then,  can  I  blaspheme  my  King  and  my  Saviour?" 
Again  the  Roman  officer  urged,  "Swear  by  the  fortune  of 
Caesar."  "Since  thou  art  vainly  urgent  that,  as  thou  sayest, 
I  should  swear  by  the  fortune  of  Caesar,"  Polycarp  replied, 
"and  pretendest  not  to  know  who  and  what  I  am,  hear  me 
declare  with  all  boldness,  I  am  a  Christian." 

Thinking  he  might  still  frighten  this  Christian  into  denying 
his  faith,  the  proconsul  threatened,  "I  have  wild  beasts  at 
hand;  to  these  will  I  cast  thee,  except  thou  repent."  "Call 
them,  then,"  answered  Polycarp,  "for  we  are  not  accustomed 
to  repent  of  what  is  good  in  order  to  adopt  that  which  is 
evil!" 

"I  will  cause  thee  to  be  consumed  by  fire,  seeing  thou  de- 
spisest  the  wild  beasts,  if  thou  wilt  not  repent,"  threatened 
the  proconsul.  "Thou  threatenest  me  with  fire  which  burn- 
eth  for  an  hour  and  after  a  little  is  extinguished,"  answered 
Polycarp,  "but  art  ignorant  of  the  fire  of  consuming  judg- 
ment and  of  eternal  punishment,  reserved  for  the  ungodly. 
But  why  tarriest  thou?     Bring  forth  what  thou  wilt."      ^ 

f 
THE  DECISION 

Then  the  herald,  at  the  command  of  the  Roman  officer, 
stepped  forth  into  the  arena.    A  hush  settled  over  the  crowd. 

12 


i 


POLYCARP 


They  wanted  to  catch  every  word  the  herald  shouted.  Then 
came  to  the  hushed  crowd  the  words  of  the  herald:  "Poly- 
carp  has  confessed  that  he  is  a  Christian!  Polycarp  has 
confessed  that  he  is  a  Christian!" 

The  hush  was  turned  into  shouts  of  fury:  "Let  loose  the 
lion!  Burn  him  alive."  The  shows  of  wild  beasts  were 
over,  so  it  was  determined  to  put  the  Christian  to  death  by 
fire.  The  eager  crowd,  each  wishing  to  have  a  share  in  the 
death  of  Polycarp,  searched  shops  and  public  baths  that 
were  near  for  wood. 

POLYCARP  PLAYS  THE  MAN 

The  fagots  were  piled  around  him.  When  they  were  about 
to  nail  Polycarp  to  the  post,  he  said,  "Leave  me  as  I  am;  for 
he  that  giveth  me  strength  to  endure  the  fire,  will  also  en- 
able me,  without  securing  me  by  nails,  to  remain  without 
moving  in  the  pile."  Accordingly  he  was  only  bound.  Then 
Polycarp  prayed,  "I  give  Thee  thanks  that  thou  hast  counted 
me  worthy  of  this  day  and  this  hour,  that  I  should  have  a 
part  in  the  number  of  thy  martyrs,  in  the  cup  of  thy  Christ, 
to  the  resurrection  of  eternal  life." 

The  fire  was  kindled  and  the  flames  leaped  about  Poly- 
carp's  body.  The  story  which  has  come  down  to  us  says 
that  because  the  flames  did  not  consume  him,  an  executioner 
was  commanded  to  pierce  him  with  a  dagger.  Thus  this 
noble  martyr  gave  his  life  rather  than  deny  his  Lord.  His 
body  was  at  last  consumed  by  the  flames,  but  the  Christians 
of  Smyrna  gathered  up  his  bones  and  buried  them.  And 
on  the  hill,  just  outside  the  city  of  Smyrna  to-day,  there  is 
a  tomb  which  is  said  to  be  that  of  Polycarp,  who  gave  his 
life  in  the  service  of  Christ  almost  eighteen  hundred  years 
ago,  soon  after  the  middle  of  the  second  century  A.D.,  either 
in  A.D.  155  or  166. 

With  the  death  of  Polycarp  the  persecution  of  the  Chris- 
tians at  this  time  in  Smyrna  came  to  an  end,  and,  as  Ter- 
tullian,  who  was  born  about  the  time  of  Polycarp's  martyr- 

13 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


dom,  wrote,  "The  blood  of  the  martyrs  was  the  seed  of  the 
Church."  By  men  and  women  who  would  not  deny  their 
faith  in  Jesus,  the  gospel  of  Christ  has  been  handed  down 
to  us  through  the  centuries. 


14 


AUGUSTINE 


Chapter  II 
AUGUSTINE 

JFho  Fought  the  Battle  in  the  Garden 
(Born  A.D.  354;  died  a.d.  430) 
The  greatest  battles  that  have  ever  been  fought  have  been 
fought  right  in  the  heart  of  a  man  or  of  a  woman,  or  of  a 
boy  or  of  a  girl.  In  such  a  battle,  instead  of  ranks  of  sol- 
diers engaged  in  hand-to-hand  conflict,  low  ideals  contest 
with  high  ideals,  right  feelings  struggle  with  wrong  feelings, 
high  resolutions  meet  with  powerful  temptations.  It  was 
this  kind  of  battle  that  Augustine  fought  with  himself  in 
the  garden  in  Milan  about  the  year  386..  To  him  it  was 
more  terrible  than  any  battle  fought  in  the  Great  War. 
We  can  understand  that  battle  fought  in  Augustine's  heart  in 
the  garden  of  Milan  only  when  we  know  how  the  story  of 
his  life  led  up  to  this  experience. 

A  BOY  OF  TAGASTE 

Augustine  was  born  in  Africa,  in  the  town  of  Tagaste,  in 
the  year  a.d.  354.  Africa  was  part  of  the  great  Roman  Em- 
pire. Since  the  days  of  Polycarp,  Christianity  had  made 
great  progress.  The  Roman  emperors  had  themselves  be- 
come professing  Christians,  and  had  forbidden  the  perse- 
cution of  the  followers  of  Christ.  But  the  proclamations  of 
the  emperors  had  not  routed  paganism  from  the  empire. 

Monica,  Augustine's  mother,  was  one  of  the  noblest  Chris- 
tian mothers  who  ever  lived.  Writers  have  said  that  it  was 
the  prayers  of  Monica  that  at  last  led  Augustine  to  Christ. 
Augustine's  father,  Patricius,  was  a  pagan.  Possibly  he  had 
not  become  a  Christian  because  he  was  a  politician,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  city  council,  and  the  pagans  rather  than  the  Chris- 
tians were  in  power  in  Tagaste.  So  Augustine  grew  up  in  a 
home  that  was  made  Christian  by  his  mother,  but  in  which 
his  father  set  him  a  different  kind  of  example. 

15 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Tagaste  was  a  busy  city,  situated  where  many  roads  met. 
There  traders  from  distant  places  came  to  exchange  their 
wares,  and  Augustine  would  watch  with  interest  these  mer- 
chants of  many  nations.  He  would  also  see  the  galloping 
horses  of  the  Imperial  Mail  as  they  plunged  over  the  roads 
on  their  hurried  errands  for  the  Roman  Government. 

Augustine  liked  to  play  handball,  and  to  catch  birds  and 
make  pets  of  them.  He  also  played  soldier  and  pretended 
that  he  was  Hannibal,  the  great  Carthaginian  general,  or 
Scipio,  the  Roman  commander,  or  Achilles  or  Hector,  the 
Greek  warriors. 

At  school  his  teacher  was  strict  and  hard,  and  many  a 
thrashing  the  youngster  received.  He  tells  how  he  often 
prayed  in  the  morning  that  he  might  not  be  whipped  that 
day,  but  God  did  not  answer  his  prayers,  for  he  "was  not 
a  good  boy." 

A  great  ambition  stirred  the  heart  of  Augustine.  He 
wanted  to  be  a  rhetorician.  A  rhetorician  was  a  professor 
of  language  and  an  orator.  Augustine  dreamed  of  moving 
great  crowds  by  his  eloquence. 

A  STUDENT  IN  MADAURA 

If  Augustine's  ambition  was  to  be  realized  it  was  neces- 
sary for  him  to  study  in  a  better  school  than  was  to  be 
found  in  Tagaste.  Accordingly,  he  was  sent  to  the  city  of 
Madaura,  thirty  miles  from  Tagaste. 

In  Madaura  was  a  statue  of  Apuleius,  a  famous  orator, 
philosopher,  and  sorcerer,  honored  in  all  northern  Africa. 
We  can  imagine  that  young  Augustine  must  have  paused 
before  the  statue  of  this  famous  man  and  dreamed  of  be- 
coming, like  him,  an  orator  whose  name  would  be  heralded 
throughout  the  world. 

It  was  not  long  before  Augustine,  now  fifteen,  drifted 
away  from  his  Christian  ideals  and  his  Christian  faith. 
When  he  returned  to  Tagaste  he  was  really  a  pagan.  But 
his  mother  did  not  give  up  hope;  God,  she  believed,  was 

16 


AUGUSTINE 


able  to  save  even  such  a  youth  as  Augustine  had  beopme, 
and  she  prayed  unceasingly  for  him. 

IN  THE  CITY  OF  CARTHAGE 

Ambition  next  took  Augustine  to  Carthage,  where  he  ex- 
pected to  finish  his  education  as  a  rhetorician.  Carthage 
was  at  that  time  one  of  the  five  great  cities  of  the  world. 
Here  he  found  a  city  even  more  pagan  than  Madaura.  Car- 
thage was  given  to  pleasure  of  the  most  degrading  kind, 
and  Augustine,  now  a  young  man  of  eighteen,  broke  away 
completely  from  his  Christian  ideals  and  gave  himself  to 
a  life  of  indulgence.  At  the  same  time  he  made  progress 
in  his  studies,  and  established  a  reputation  as  a  public 
speaker. 

One  day  he  found  a  book  called  "Hortensius."  This 
book  was  written  by  Cicero,  the  famous  Roman  orator  and 
philosopher,  but  has  been  lost.  As  Augustine  read  the  book 
he  came  to  the  words,  "the  pursuit  of  truth."  Suddenly 
Augustine's  whole  view  of  life  was  changed.  Truth,  not 
pleasure,  now  became  his  goal;  he  wanted  to  know  the 
truth. 

In  his  search  for  the  truth  he  read  the  Bible,  but  he  was 
too  fond  of  rhetoric  to  appreciate  its  plain,  direct  language. 
In  despair  he  turned  to  the  teaching  of  the  Manichaeans,  a 
peculiar  religious  sect  which  at  this  time  was  making  great 
progress  in  Africa.  Their  teaching  is  hard  for  us  to  under- 
stand, nor  is  it  necessary  for  us  to  understand  it.  The 
Manichaean  teachers,  however,  talked  so  much  as  if  they 
knew  it  all  that  Augustine,  who  was  seeking  the  truth,  be- 
came one  of  them.  Soon  he  became  one  of  their  cleverest 
debaters.  He  liked  this  religion  because  in  spite  of  the 
Manichaeans'  pretense  to  holiness  of  life,  he  felt  he  could 
still  continue  to  live  in  sin.  When  he  went  back  to  Tagaste 
from  Carthage,  a  young  man  of  twenty,  he  was  an  out- 
spoken, conceited  Manichaean. 

Augustine  returned  to  Carthage  and  practiced  his  profes- 

17 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


sion,  but  he  began  to  feel  disgusted  with  the  teaching  of  the 
Manichaeans.  Had  he  found  the  truth  after  all?  Eagerly  he 
awaited  the  arrival  of  Faustus,  one  of  the  Manichaeans' 
famous  teachers.  When  Faustus  arrived,  Augustine  was 
completely  disgusted,  for  Faustus  could  not  answer  his  ques- 
tions. The  teachings  of  the  Manichaeans  did  not  stand  the 
test  of  fact  and  experience,  and  their  leaders  could  not  sat- 
isfy his  mind.  The  religion  which  he  had  so  cleverly  de- 
fended no  longer  satisfied  him. 

IN  ROME  AND  MILAN 

From  Carthage  Augustine  went  to  Rome.  There  he  met 
with  disappointment.  He  now  scarcely  believed  anything, 
and  he  wondered  if  truth  was  to  be  found  anywhere.  He 
secured  an  appointment  in  Milan;  but  here  again  he  met 
with  disappointment.  He  had  not  found  the  truth  that  would 
satisfy  him.  In  Milan  his  health  failed  him,  and  he  became 
discouraged. 

But  Milan  was  a  Christian  city,  and  the  famous  Ambrose 
was  its  bishop.  Augustine  went  to  hear  Ambrose  preach, 
and  he  began  to  read  the  Bible  again.  He  was  impressed  by 
the  fact  that  the  Bible  made  good  men  and  women.  Now  the 
struggle  in  his  heart  became  intense.  Could  he  give  up  his 
evil  practices  and  turn  from  his  sins  and  serve  Christ? 

One  day  when  he  saw  a  drunken  beggar  on  the  street, 
seemingly  happy  in  his  intoxication,  Augustine,  who  all  his 
life  had  been  seeking  happiness  in  pleasure,  was  tempted 
to  give  up  his  search  for  truth  and  give  himself  over  to  en- 
joyment. But  he  could  not  get  rid  of  the  thought  that  there 
is  more  to  life  than  mere  pleasure. 

"There  is  something  else,"  he  said,  and  he  began  again 
his  search  for  truth.  Now  the  Bible  appealed  to  his  heart, 
but  he  was  too  proud  to  acknowledge  that  he  needed  a 
Saviour  and  too  fond  of  his  sins  to  be  willing  to  give  them 
up.  Then  one  of  his  friends  gave  him  a  book  by  Plato,  the 
Greek  philosopher,  and  as  he  read  it  and  compared  it  with 

18 


AUGUSTINE 


the  Gospel  by  John  and  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  the  truth  began 
to  take  hold  upon  him.  He  must  escape  from  his  sins;  but 
how?  He  could  not  break  the  chains  that  held  him  in 
slavery. 

THE  VICTORY  IN  THE  GAr^DEN 

He  was  told  of  Victorinus,  the  famous  rhetorician  and 
philosopher,  who  became  a  Christian  and  immediately  an- 
nounced his  conversion  to  the  multitudes.  Augustine  won- 
dered at  such  courage.  He  was  told  how  Anthony,  a  famous 
monk,  had  given  up  the  world  to  serve  Christ;  and  Augus- 
tine felt  ashamed  of  his  own  weakness.  Then,  in  the  garden 
in  Milan,  he  fought  the  battle  with  his  weakness  and  his  sin. 
"How  long,  how  long?"  he  cried.  "To-morrow  and  to-mor- 
row? Why  not  this  hour  make  an  end  of  my  vileness?"  To 
understand  Augustine's  experience,  read  Rom.  7:  14-25. 

Then  he  heard  a  voice,  the  voice  of  a  child,  perhaps  from 
a  neighboring  house:  "Take  and  read!  Take  and  read." 
Had  God  spoken  to  him  through  a  child?  He  went  back  to 
his  Bible.  The  verse  upon  which  his  eyes  fell  was  Rom. 
13:  14:  "Put  ye  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  make  not 
provision  for  the  flesh,  to  fulfil  the  lusts  thereof."  Then  and 
there  Augustine's  better  self,  by  the  grace  of  God,  won  the 
battle,  and  he  gave  his  heart  to  Christ.  He  rose  from  his 
knees  with  a  new  peace  in  his  heart.  He  had  found  the 
truth!  He  had  found  true  joy  in  Christ.  Joyfully  he  went 
to  his  mother,  who  had  followed  him  from  city  to  city  while 
she  kept  praying  for  him,  and  made  her  happy  by  his  con- 
fession of  Christ. 

AUGUSTINE  THE  CHRISTIAN 

Quietly  he  began  his  Christian  life,  after  a  time  coming 
out  before  the  world  as  a  Christian.  Then  he  started  for 
Africa.  On  the  way  his  mother  died;  but  he  went  on  to 
Tagaste,  where  he  turned  his  house  into  a  monastery.  He 
gave  himself  to  the  study  of  the  Scriptures.  He  wrote  and 
spoke  in  defense  of  his  faith.    His  life  and  his  writing  and 

19 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


his  power  in  debate  made  him  one  of  the  best  known  men 
in  northern  Africa. 

One  day  he  attended  the  church  in  Hippo.  During  the 
service  the  bishop  spoke  of  the  need  of  priests.  Instantly 
the  congregation  cried  out:  "Augustine  a  priest!  Augustine 
a  priest!"  and  then  and  there  he  was  ordained  to  the  priest- 
hood. Later  he  was  made  Bishop  of  Hippo,  a  position  which 
he  filled  for  more  than  thirty-five  years. 

Augustine  wrote  and  taught  and  preached,  and  defended 
the  truth  of  Christianity.  He  relieved  the  needs  of  the  poor, 
managed  the  property  of  his  diocese,  preached  in  the  cathe- 
dral, prepared  converts  for  membership  in  the  Church,  min- 
istered impartially  to  rich  and  poor,  educated  and  ignorant, 
and  in  spite  of  threats  and  dangers  and  hardships  served 
Christ  with  the  utmost  devotion  to  the  very  end.  He  died 
when  Hippo  was  being  besieged  by  the  barbarian  hordes 
into  whose  hands  the  city  fell  after  his  death. 

Augustine  has  been  recognized  as  the  greatest  of  the 
Church  fathers.  For  a  thousand  years  his  influence  domi- 
nated the  Christian  Church,  and  it  is  still  felt  to-day. 


20 


BERNARD  OF  CLAIRVAUX 


Chapter  III 
BERNARD  OF  CLAIRVAUX 

Whose  Courage  Was  Mightier  Than  the  Warrior's  Sword 
(Born  1090;  died  1153) 

William,  Duke  of  Aquitaine,  who  lived  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, commanded  a  powerful  army  ready  to  carry  out  his 
orders.  His  territory  covered  the  richest  region  of  south- 
western France.  He  was  in  a  position  to  crush  anyone  who 
dared  to  oppose  him.  He  was  also  a  man  of  huge  stature 
and  of  almost  gigantic  strength,  and  he  had  a  violent  temper. 

This  powerful  duke  who  was  so  much  feared  on  every  hand 
had  removed  certain  bishops  from  the  church  in  his  terri- 
tory and  had  set  up  bishops  of  his  own  choice.  The  high 
authorities  in  the  Church  could  do  nothing  with  him.  He 
recognized  no  law  or  authority  in  his  wide  domains,  and 
he  disdained  religion. 

One  day  this  tyrant  stood  face  to  face  with  Bernard,  the 
abbot  of  the  monastery  of  Clairvaux.  What  a  contrast  be- 
tween the  two  figures!  Bernard  was  about  middle  height 
and  was  physically  frail,  but  within  that  frail  body  was  a 
strength  that  seemed  almost  irresistible.  Bernard  had  been 
conducting  the  service  in  the  church,  and  Duke  William,  who 
disdained  the  Church  and  mocked  at  it,  stood  upon  the  steps. 
With  flashing  face  and  eyes  that  burned  with  indignation, 
Bernard  advanced  to  meet  the  towering  figure  of  the  duke. 
"Your  Judge  is  here,  at  whose  name,  every  knee  shall  bow, 
of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  on  earth,  and  things  under 
the  earth!"  exclaimed  Bernard.  "Your  Judge  is  here,  into 
whose  hands  your  soul  is  to  pass!  Will  you  spurn  him, 
also?" 

There  was  an  impressive  silence.  Then  suddenly  the  great 
warrior  fell  to  the  ground  before  the  fearless  monk,  who  was 
armed  only  with  courage  and  a  sense  of  right.  The  duke, 
who  could  have  struck  Bernard  dead  with  one  blow  of  his 

21 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


fist  or  mace,  was  conquered  by  the  fearless  messenger  of 
God.  In  penitence  Duke  WiUiam  sought  forgiveness  for  his 
sins,  and  asked  to  be  admitted  to  the  Church  which  he  had 
disdained.  The  monk  who  faced  and  conquered  the  gigantic 
warrior  has  an  interesting  story. 

BERNARD'S  BOYHOOD 

Bernard  was  born  at  Fontaines,  in  Burgundy,  France,  in 
the  year  1090,  just  six  years  before  the  First  Crusade,  in 
which  a  host  of  knights,  under  the  banner  of  the  cross,  set 
out  to  rescue  the  Holy  Land  from  the  followers  of  Mo- 
hammed. As  a  boy  he  must  have  heard  the  thrilling  stories 
of  how  the  knights  who  wore  the  cross  fought  their  enemies 
who  held  Jerusalem,  the  Holy  City,  for  France  had  sent  out 
many  warriors  in  that  First  Crusade. 

His  father  was  Tescelin,  a  knight  famous  for  his  valor 
in  arms,  for  his  justice,  and  for  his  sympathy  for  the  poor. 
A  great  soldier,  he  refused  to  fight  except  to  protect  his  own 
lands  from  the  plunderer,  or  at  the  call  of  his  feudal  lord, 
to  whom  he  owed  allegiance.  Bernard's  mother  was  Aleth, 
or  Aletta,  one  of  the  noblest  Christian  women  whose  story 
has  come  down  to  us.  She  dedicated  Bernard,  her  third 
son,  to  the  service  of  Christ. 

The  boy  was  sent  to  the  cathedral  school  at  Chatillon, 
where  he  distinguished  himself  as  a  student  and  a  Christian. 
Unlike  Augustine,  Bernard  had  the  strength  and  courage  to 
resist  temptation,  and  he  kept  his  life  pure. 

His  mother  died  while  he  was  still  a  boy,  but  in  his 
heart  he  cherished  her  memory.  He  could  never  forget  her 
words  and  her  life.  Often  the  memory  of  her  came  to  him 
so  vividly  that  it  seemed  that  she  had  actually  appeared  to 
him. 

BERNARD'S  CHOICE 

The  time  came  for  Bernard  to  decide  upon  a  career.  He 
might  choose  to  be  a  knight,  and  win  fame  and  fortune  as  a 
soldier.     Or  he  might  secure  a  position  at  court.    With  his 

22 


BERNARD  OF  CLAIRVAUX 


pleasing  personality  and  his  ability  to  influence  others,  he 
might  rise  to  the  highest  position  in  the  service  of  the  king. 
Another  field,  too,  was  open  to  Bernard.  Learning  had  been 
much  neglected  in  the  "Dark  Ages,"  but  now  schools  were 
coming  into  favor  and  soon  great  universities  would  be  es- 
tablished. Bernard,  with  his  splendid  mind  and  his  ability 
as  a  student,  might  hope  to  become  a  famous  scholar  and 
teacher.    This  calling  especially  appealed  to  him. 

However,  Bernard's  mother  had  dedicated  him  to  the  serv- 
ice of  Christ.  Perhaps  he  might  fulfill  her  wish  and  at  the 
same  time  win  honor  and  position  and  wealth  by  aspiring 
to  some  high  office  in  the  Church,  for  the  Church  of  Bernard's 
day  owned  great  lands,  possessed  enormous  wealth,  and  ruled 
over  kings.  Pope  Gregory  the  Great  had  compelled  kings 
and  emperors  to  acknowledge  the  sovereignty  of  the  pope. 
Bernard,  for  the  asking,  could  secure  a  position  in  the  Church 
which  would  lead  to  honor  and  ease  and  wealth  and  power. 
Which  should  he  choose? 

One  day  Bernard  was  on  his  way  to  join  his  brothers  who 
were  in  the  army  of  the  duke  of  Burgundy,  which  was  laying 
siege  to  a  powerful  castle.  Deeply  moved  by  memories  of  his 
mother,  he  turned  aside  and  entered  a  church  to  pray.  There 
the  victory  over  selfish  ambitions  and  pride  was  won.  He 
would  fulfill  the  wish  of  his  mother;  he  would  give  his  life 
to  the  service  of  his  Lord.  Giving  all  to  God,  he  would  give 
up  camp  and  court  and  high  office  to  live  in  a  monastery. 

THE  MONASTERY  OF  CITEAUX 

In  that  day  when  men  wished  to  give  up  the  world,  they 
were  accustomed  to  retire  to  an  institution  called  a  "mon- 
astery." Here  all  their  time  was  given  to  humble  work  and 
to  study  and  meditation.  Having  made  up  his  mind  to  enter 
a  monastery,  Bernard  undertook  to  persuade  others  to  fol- 
low him.  His  eloquence  and  influence  soon  led  his  brothers, 
his  uncle,  and  others,  to  join  his  company,  and  together  they 
sought  admission  to  the  monastery  of  Citeaux.     He  did  not 

23 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


choose  a  famous  or  attractive  monastery,  but  a  monastery  in 
which  his  devotion  would  be  tested.  Here  the  monks  Hved 
on  one  simple  meal  a  day  and  worked  at  their  humble  tasks. 
Bernard  went  further  than  the  rules  required,  and  ate  so  lit- 
tle food  that  he  lost  all  sense  of  taste.  As  a  result,  his  phys- 
ical weakness  unfitted  him  for  the  harder  work  of  the  mon- 
astery, but  to  make  up  for  this  he  took  upon  himself  the 
most  menial  tasks.  Afterwards,  he  said  that  he  should  have 
nourished  his  body,  so  as  to  keep  strong  for  the  service  of 
Christ.  But  in  his  day  it  was  thought  that  self-denial,  in 
itself,  was  a  virtue. 

THE  MONASTERY  OF  CLAIRVAUX 
At  the  age  of  twenty-five,  with  twelve  monks  in  his  com- 
pany, he  went  out  to  found  a  new  monastery.  The  site  had 
been  known  as  "The  Valley  of  Wormwood."  Here  the 
monks  cleared  land,  built  rude  houses,  and  erected  other 
buildings  with  their  own  hands.  They  began  to  subdue  the 
wilderness.  Inspired  by  Bernard,  his  followers  in  spite  of 
untold  hardship  and  deprivations  finished  their  task.  Soon 
the  monastery  under  Bernard's  leadership  became  so  re- 
nowned that  requests  came  for  monks  from  Clairvaux  to  go 
out  to  many  other  places  to  establish  colonies.  During 
Bernard's  life  there  were  societies  established  in  England, 
Scotland,  Ireland,  Germany,  Denmark,  Sweden,  Norway, 
and  Italy,  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  and  sixty. 

THE  WEAPONS  OF  BERNARD 

Bernard  was  accustomed,  to  preach  to  the  monks  in  the 
monastery  every  day.  His  greatest  lessons  came  from  the 
Scriptures  which  he  studied  with  devotion.  God  spoke  to 
him  best  when  he  was  out  in  the  midst  of  nature,  which  he 
loved.  "The  trees  and  rocks,"  he  said,  "shall  teach  thee 
what  thou  never  canst  learn  from  human  masters." 

From  time  to  time  he  was  called  away  for  work  which  re- 
quired great  courage.     When  no  one  else  had  the  influence 

24 


BERNARD  OF  CLAIRVAUX 


necessary  to  accomplish  what  was  to  be  done,  Bernard  was 
sent.  He  alone,  as  we  have  learned,  could  overawe  the 
gigantic  and  violent  William  of  Aquitaine.  Armed  only 
with  his  courage  and  his  faith,  he  could  meet  and  scatter 
an  enraged  and  murderous  mob  with  greater  dispatch  than 
could  a  thousand  soldiers  armed  with  lances. 

When  the  count  of  Champagne,  in  whose  territory  the 
convent  of  Clairvaux  was  situated,  unjustly  punished  one  of 
his  vassals,  Bernard  became  the  champion  of  the  suffering 
man  and  his  family  and  compelled  the  count  to  make  repara- 
tion. 

Rudolph,  a  monk  of  Germany,  declared  that  he  was  com- 
missioned of  God  to  lead  a  home  crusade.  If  it  was  the  call 
of  God  to  fight  the  enemies  of  the  cross  in  Palestine,  why 
should  he  not  lead  in  a  crusade  against  the  descendants  of 
those  who  carried  Jesus  Christ  to  Calvary?  With  his  cry, 
"Death  to  the  Jews,"  he  won  many  followers,  and  thousands 
of  Jews  were  slain.  Bernard  protested  against  this  slaughter 
of  the  Jews.  "The  Church  triumphs  more  abundantly  over 
the  Jews  in  every  day  convincing  and  converting  them," 
he  said,  "than  if  it  were  to  give  them  all  on  the  instant  to  be 
consumed  by  the  sword."  He  met  the  heartless  Rudolph 
and  broke  his  stubborn  spirit  almost  as  suddenly  as  he  had 
broken  that  of  William  of  Aquitaine,  and  then  he  conquered 
the  mob  bent  upon  slaying  the  Jews. 

Bernard,  much  as  he  respected  the  pope  who  was  then 
recognized  as  the  chief  bishop  of  the  Church,  was  not  afraid 
to  remonstrate  in  the  sharpest  terms  when  he  felt  that  the 
pope  was  wrong.  When  the  pope  failed  to  keep  a  promise, 
Bernard  called  him  to  account. 

Thus,  in  his  fear  of  none  save  God,  this  humble  monk 
discharged  his  duty.  He  refused  all  titles  and  material  re- 
wards, and  when  urged  to  become  a  bishop  he  insisted  that 
he  would  live  and  die  the  abbot  of  Clairvaux. 

When  word  came  from  the  Holy  Land  that  the  fortresses 
of  the  Christians  were  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  united 

25 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Mohammedans,  a  caU  was  issued  for  a  Second  Crusade  and 
Bernard  was  appointed  to  preach  it.  Everywhere  he  went 
he  stirred  enthusiasm.  He  did  not  invite  men  to  arms  to  win 
fame  or  weakh,  but  spoke  of  the  sufferings  of  the  Christians 
of  the  Holy  Land  of  the  profanation  of  the  sacred  places 
where  Christ  had  walked.  Then  he  called  upon  men  to  win 
back  Palestine  from  the  Mohammedans.  He  preached  re- 
pentance in  preparation  for  the  crusade,  and  multitudes 
turned  from  their  sins  in  response  to  his  preaching.  But 
the  crusade  was  a  disastrous  failure,  and  Bernard  was  furi- 
ously reproached.  His  own  disappointment  was  keen,  but 
he  went  on  about  his  work  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  He 
had  sought  to  please  God  rather  than  men,  and  as  far  as 
man's  wrath  was  concerned  he  paid  no  heed. 

At  last,  in  his  sixty-third  year,  in  1153,  the  end  came. 
When  his  friends  crowded  about  him  in  tears,  he  prayed, 
"Wilt  thou  not  pity  us,  our  Father?  wilt  thou  not  compas- 
sionate those  whom  thou  hirtherto  hast  nourished  in  thy 
love?"    And  his  spirit  was  gone. 

In  a  day  in  which  such  a  man  was  needed,  he  gave  an  ex- 
ample of  the  courage  which  sincerity  of  purpose  and  honesty 
of  heart  and  faith  in  God  can  give  to  men. 


26 


JOHN  WYCLIF 


Chapter  IV 
JOHN  WYCLIF 

The  Father  of  the  English  Bible 
(Born  1324;  died  1384) 

In  1365,  during  the  reign  of  King  Edward  III,  England 
was  stirred  by  the  demand  of  Pope  Urban  V  for  tribute.  In 
1213  the  pope's  ban  upon  the  country  for  three  years  forced 
King  John  of  England  to  yield  to  the  pope  and  to  make 
over  to  him  the  realm  of  England.  In  recognition  of  the 
pope's  claim  upon  the  country  the  king  promised  to  pay  an- 
nually twelve  thousand  pounds  as  rent.  This  was  a  much 
larger  sum  than  the  income  of  the  king  himself.  For  more 
than  a  hundred  years  this  rent  had  been  irregularly  paid. 
When  Edward  III  was  king,  over  thirty  years  had  passed 
without  the  payment  of  this  rent  and  now,  in  1365,  Pope 
Urban  V  not  only  demanded  the  payment  of  the  year's  taxes 
but  also  the  payment  of  all  the  back  rent. 

England  was  aroused  by  this  demand.  Many  were  eager 
to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  Rome.  Just  at  this  time  there  was 
in  England  a  man  who  was  brave  enough,  patriotic  enough, 
and  learned  enough,  to  become  England's  champion — John 
Wyclif. 

WYCLIF'S  EARLY  TRAINING 

Almost  nothing  is  known  of  Wyclif's  boyhood.  He  must 
have  been  born  about  1324,  in  Yorkshire,  England.  As  a 
boy  he  was  probably  taught  by  the  village  priest,  but  when 
he  was  sixteen  or  possibly  a  little  older,  he  was  sent  to  the 
now  famous  University  of  Oxford.  To  reach  Oxford  he  had 
to  make  a  ten-days'  journey  through  territory  where  out- 
laws made  it  their  business  to  waylay  and  rob  just  such 
travelers.  But  Wyclif  joined  other  students  and  wayfarers 
who  banded  together  for  self-protection.  At  Oxford  Wyclif 
became  known  as  a  scholar,  and  was  made  master  of  Balliol 
College. 

27 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


ENGLAND'S  CHAMPION 

When  Pope  Urban  V  demanded  the  payment  of  the  past 
rental  claimed  by  him,  the  king's  council  discussed  the  mat- 
ter. Wyclif,  as  royal  chaplain,  was  a  member  of  this  coun- 
cil. He  insisted  that  King  John  had  had  no  right  to  tax  the 
country  without  the  consent  of  Parliament,  and  so  the  rental 
now  demanded  by  the  pope  was  not  legal.  Supported  by 
Wyclif's  argument,  the  council  decided  to  stand  by  the  king 
in  his  refusal  to  pay  the  money  the  pope  demanded.  Wyclif 
wrote  a  tract  setting  forth  the  reasons  why  England  should 
not  yield  to  the  demands  of  the  pope.  The  pope  sought  to 
get  rid  of  Wyclif's  influence  in  England,  but  the  English 
court  and  the  English  people  looked  upon  him  as  the  great 
defender  of  their  national  rights.  In  various  conferences 
and  councils  where  English  liberty  was  discussed,  Wyclif 
was  the  spokesman  for  the  English,  and  a  brave,  powerful 
defender  of  liberty  he  was. 

Wyclif  was  for  some  time  a  professor  at  Oxford,  but  the 
pope  succeeded  in  having  him  removed  from  this  position. 
In  1374  he  was  appointed  rector  of  Lutterworth,  where  he 
carried  on  most  of  his  work  as  preacher  and  writer. 

WYCLIF'S  PREACHERS 

Wyclif  himself  was  a  powerful  preacher.  As  a  scholar, 
of  course  he  knew  Latin  and  wrote  and  spoke  in  this  lan- 
guage; but  he  felt  that  it  was  his  duty  to  reach  the  common 
people,  so  he  preached  and  wrote  also  in  English.  His  Eng- 
lish sermons  were  in  the  everyday  language  of  the  people. 
He  studied  the  Bible,  and  his  knowledge  of  what  was  taught 
in  God's  Word  led  him  to  oppose  many  of  the  teachings  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  claims  of  the  pope.  In- 
stead of  looking  upon  the  pope  as  the  highest  authority  in 
religion,  as  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  claimed,  he  de- 
clared that  the  Bible  was  the  true  authority.  He  wrote  a 
book  entitled  "The  Truth  and  Meaning  of  Scripture,"  in 
which  he  taught  that  we  are  to  find  out  what  is  true  from 

28 


JOHN  WYCLIF 


the  Bible  and  not  from  the  pope,  that  everyone  has  the  right 
to  think  for  himself  and  to  decide  for  himself  what  the  Bible 
means,  and  that  the  Church  is  not  to  be  guided  by  what  the 
pope  says  but  by  what  the  Scriptures  teach.  He  declared, 
too,  that  the  simple  preaching  of  the  gospel  was  the  best 
means  of  reaching  the  hearts  and  the  consciences  of  men  and 
women.  He  felt  that  there  was  need  of  more  preachers  who 
would  go  among  the  people  preaching  God's  Word. 

There  were  plenty  of  a  certain  kind  of  preachers  in  Wy- 
clif's  day,  but  this  was  just  the  trouble.  These  preachers 
were  known  as  "friars,"  and  belonged  to  the  Franciscans 
and  the  Dominicans,  two  orders  of  begging  friars  who  went 
about  preaching.  By  Wyclif's  time  the  high  ideals  of  the 
founders  of  these  orders  had  been  lost,  and  the  friars,  who 
were  supposed  to  be  poor  and  to  give  up  all  their  property, 
had  become  greedy  and  their  orders  rich.  They  were  the 
pope's  best  money  raisers.  They  no  longer  preached  the 
Word  of  God,  but  cared  only  to  say  what  would  interest 
and  please  their  audiences  and  bring  good  collections.  Their 
so-called   sermons   were   often   absurd,   and  even   indecent. 

Wyclif  felt  that  the  only  hope  of  saving  England  was  by 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  One  day  when  he  was  sick  and 
some  of  the  friars  came  to  denounce  him  for  his  errors,  he 
declared,  "I  shall  not  die  but  live,  and  declare  the  evil  deeds 
of  the  friars." 

Wyclif  gathered  about  him  men  from  Oxford  and  others 
and  trained  them  to  preach  simple  sermons  based  upon  the 
Scriptures.  He  called  them  the  "poor  preachers,"  for  they 
were  really  what  the  friars  pretended  to  be.  They  preached 
the  gospel  of  Christ,  without  any  thought  of  gain.  These 
preachers  went  through  the  towns  and  villages  of  England 
telling  the  message  of  the  cross.  They  preached  in  the 
churches  where  they  were  invited,  otherwise  in  the  church- 
yards or  under  the  trees.  They  also  visited  the  sick  and  the 
aged  and  the  poor,  and  helped  them  as  best  they  could. 
These  "poor  preachers"  became  known  as  "Lollards." 

2 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


WYCLIF'S  BIBLE 

The  "poor  preachers"  who  were  sent  out  by  Wyclif  to 
preach  in  the  language  of  the  people  needed  the  Bible  in 
English.  But  the  Bible  was  in  Latin,  the  language  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  Parts  of  the  Scriptures  had  been 
translated  into  English,  but  Wyclif  undertook  to  give  the 
whole  Bible  to  the  people  in  their  own  language.  The  New 
Testament  was  translated  by  Wyclif  himself,  but  Dr, 
Nicholas  Hereford  of  Oxford  helped  with  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  John  Purvey,  the  curate  at  Lutterworth,  assisted 
in  revising  the  whole  translation.  The  translation  was  made 
from  the  Latin.  Thus  Wyclif  gave  to  the  world  the  first 
complete  Bible  in  English,  in  the  year  1382. 

After  translating  the  Bible,  Wyclif  still  had  a  great  task 
before  him.  There  were  no  printing  presses  then,  and  copies 
of  the  Bible  had  to  be  made  by  hand.  Scores  of  willing 
workers  were  engaged  in  copying  the  English  Bible  by  hand. 
The  demand  became  so  great  that  hundreds  of  expert  scribes 
were  employed  to  make  more  copies.  Wealthy  people  se- 
cured their  own  copyists  to  make  their  Bible  for  them  and 
the  poorer  people  bought  portions  of  the  Bible — a  Gospel, 
or  The  Psalms,  or  an  Epistle.  So  many  copies  were  made 
and  kept  that  to-day,  after  more  than  five  hundred  years, 
there  are  still  in  existence  one  hundred  and  fifty  manu- 
scripts of  Wyclif's  Bible  in  whole  or  in  part.  It  has  been 
said  that  we  owe  to  Wyclif  our  English  language,  our  Eng- 
lish Bible,  and  our  Reformed  religion.  Wyclif's  Bible  has 
been  the  parent  Bible  of  the  world,  for  it  was  the  first  Eng- 
lish Bible,  upon  which,  to  a  large  extent,  all  later  Bibles 
were  based — and  the  English  Bible  has  been  translated  into 
over  seven  hundred  languages  and  dialects. 

WYCLIF'S  DEATH 

Wyclif  worked  hard  and  long;  but  one  day,  in  1384,  while 
he  was  conducting  services  in  the  church  at  Lutterworth,  he 
was  struck  down  with  paralysis  and  never  spoke  again.     A 

30 


JOHN  WYCLIF 


few  days  later,  on  New  Year's  Eve,  his  life  ended  with  the 
passing  of  the  year.  He  was  reverently  buried  in  the  church- 
yard. But  his  body  was  not  allowed  to  lie  in  peace;  thirty 
years  later  he  was  condemned  by  the  Council  of  Constance 
and,  at  the  command  of  the  pope,  his  bones  were  dug  up, 
burned  to  ashes,  and  cast  into  the  river  Swift.  "This  brook," 
says  Fuller,  "did  convey  his  ashes  into  the  Avon,  Avon  into 
Severn,  Severn  into  the  narrow  sea,  and  this  into  the  wide 
ocean.  And  so  the  ashes  of  Wyclif  are  the  emblem  of  his 
doctrine,  which  is  now  dispersed  all  over  the  world." 


31 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Chapter  V 
JOHN  HUSS 

Who  Put  His  Conscience  Above  His  Life 
(Born  1373;  died  1415) 

Even  as  a  young  man  John  Huss  was  getting  ready  for 
life,  not  only  by  his  studies  but  by  his  desire  to  prove  worthy 
to  be  called  a  Christian.  He  had  read  the  story  of  Lawrence, 
a  third-century  martyr,  and  he  wondered  if  he  would  have 
the  courage  to  suffer  for  Christ  as  this  Christian  had  suf- 
fered. So  he  put  his  hand  on  the  fire  in  the  coal  pan  and 
held  it  there  until  his  companions  pulled  it  away.  "Why 
dost  thou  fear  so  small  a  matter?"  Huss  inquired.  "I  only 
wished  to  test  whether  I  should  have  sufficient  courage  to 
bear  but  a  small  part  of  that  pain  which  Lawrence  endured." 
In  later  years  Huss  was  indeed  to  endure  the  flames  for 
conscience'  sake. 

A  BOHEMIAN  BOY 

As  a  boy  he  was  known,  as  John,  the  son  of  Michael,  but 
because  he  came  from  Husinec,  in  Bohemia,  he  was  later 
called  John  Huss.  He  was  born  probably  in  the  year  1373, 
which  would  be  just  the  year  before  John  Wyclif  went  to 
live  at  Lutterworth.  The  home  of  Huss  was  a  humble  cot- 
tage, for  his  mother  was  a  poor  widow.  While  her  son  was 
still  an  infant  she  dedicated  him  to  the  service  of  God.  Al- 
though she  was  poor,  she  planned  that  her  son  should  re- 
ceive a  good  education.  For  a  time  he  attended  school  in 
a  near-by  town,  and  then  his  mother  herself  took  him  to 
Prague  where  he  became  a  student  in  the  university.  Often 
he  went  hungry,  and  slept  on  the  bare  ground,  and  some- 
times he  had  to  beg  in  the  streets,  which  was  not  uncom- 
mon in  the  days  of  begging  friars. 

To  a  less  earnest  Christian  than  Huss  the  city  of  Prague 
might  have  been  as  ruinous  as  Carthage  was  for  Augustine, 
for  the  city  abounded  in  temptations.     Huss,  however,  be- 

32 


JOHN  HUSS 


came  known  for  his  clean  living  and  Christian  character. 

Huss  studied  the  Bible  and  books  written  by  early  Chris- 
tian writers — "the  Fathers,"  they  are  called — among  them 
Augustine  especially.  In  his  university  work  he  made  rapid 
progress.  As  a  student  he  was  still  loyal  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  but  influences  were  coming  into  his  life 
which  were  opening  his  eyes  to  some  of  the  false  claims  of 
the  Romish  Church  and  the  evil  lives  of  many  of  its  leaders. 
Among  his  teachers  in  the  university  were  men  who  were 
opposed  to  the  pope's  claims.  His  reading  of  Wyclif's 
books,  which  put  the  Scriptures  above  the  pope  as  the  au- 
thority in  religion,  and  his  own  study  of  the  Bible  prepared 
him  for  his  brave  stand  for  the  supreme  authority  of  God's 
Word  and  for  liberty  of  conscience. 

HUSS  THE  PREACHER 

The  university  student  began  to  be  heard  from  as  a 
preacher.  For  a  time  he  preached  at  the  Church  of 
St.  Michael,  and  then  he  was  called  to  be  the  preacher  in 
the  famous  Bethlehem  Chapel.  This  church  had  been  en- 
dowed by  two  citizens  who  believed  in  preaching  the  gospel 
to  the  people,  and  who  insisted  that  "the  poor  should  have 
the  gospel  preached  to  them  in  their  own  tcfngue."  Here 
Huss  preached  twice  almost  every  Sunday,  with  great  power. 

There  was  need  of  a  fearless  preacher  in  Prague,  for  the 
people  did  not  know  God's  Word  and  were  not  living  as 
Christians  should  live.  Huss  preached  the  gospel  to  the  peo- 
ple and  fearlessly  called  them  to  repentance  and  to  holiness 
of  life.  He  preached  with  boldness  and  with  earnestness, 
yet  with  sympathy  and  love.  Thousands  attended  his  serv- 
ices. His  own  consistent  Christian  life  gave  power  to  his 
sermons. 

The  popularity  of  Huss  as  a  preacher  pleased  the  priests 
and  bishops,  until  he  began  to  expose  and  denounce  the  evil 
practices  of  the  clergy.  Then  they  began  to  feel  that  it  was 
time  to  get  rid  of  this  bold  preacher. 

33 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


HUSS  IS  PERSECUTED 

There  was  also  another  reason  for  opposition  to  Huss.  In 
Prague  there  was  rivalry  between  the  Bohemians  and  the 
Germans.  Although  Prague  was  a  Bohemian  university, 
three  out  of  four  votes  were  controlled  by  the  Germans. 
Huss  believed  that  the  Germans  had  the  right  to  rule  their 
own  country,  but  that  the  Bohemians  should  have  the  right 
to  rule  in  Bohemia.  So  he  championed  the  rights  of  the 
Bohemians  in  the  university.  When  three  votes  were  given 
to  the  Bohemians  to  one  to  the  Germans,  there  was  a  great 
outburst  of  opposition  from  the  Germans,  and  many  with- 
drew to  establish  universities  elsewhere.  Huss  was  made 
-rector  of  the  university.  Emperor  Sigismund,  of  the  Holy 
Roman  Empire,  which  included  Bohemia,  wished  to  add 
Bohemia  to  his  territory.  He  was  glad  enough  now  to 
find  reasons  for  putting  Huss  out  of  the  way,  for  this  patriot 
would  stand  for  the  independence  of  Bohemia. 

Wlien  he  preached,  spies  listened  in  order  to  find  some 
statement  upon  which  an  accusation  of  false  teaching  could 
be  based.  His  books  were  eagerly  read  for  evidence  that 
he  taught  doctrines  which  were  contrary  to  the  teaching  of 
the  Church.  One  of  the  chief  excuses  for  attacking  Huss 
was  the  fact  fhat  he  had  translated  one  of  Wyclif's  books. 
So  violent  was  the  opposition  to  Wyclif's  teaching  that  his 
books  were  gathered  together  and  publicly  burned  by  the 
Roman  Catholic  bishop.  Huss  defended  the  reading  of 
Wyclif's  writings,  not  because  he  believed  everything  that 
Wyclif  taught  but  because  he  believed  in  liberty.  He  de- 
clared that  no  doctrine  should  be  condemned  until  it  was 
shown  to  be  contrary  to  the  Word  of  God.  The  bishop  then 
excommunicated  Huss — that  is,  Huss  was  denied  the  rites  of 
the  Romish  Church,  and  also  no  longer  had  the  right  to 
preach.    But  he  kept  on  preaching  in  Bethlehem  Chapel. 

He  was  then  summoned  to  Rome  for  trial,  but  he  was  con- 
vinced that  nothing  would  be  accomplished  by  his  going, 
and  so  friends  were  sent  in  his  place  to  make  his  defense. 

34 


JOHN  HUSS 


They  were  cast  into  prison.  Huss  was  condemned  by  the 
pope.  This  was  in  August,  1412.  All  faithful  members  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  were  forbidden  to  give  "him  food 
or  drink,  or  even  to  speak  to  him.  But  Huss  appealed  from 
the  decision  of  the  pope  to  Jesus  Christ,  the  true  Head  of 
the  Church.  Again  he  was  condemned  by  the  pope,  Bethle- 
hem Chapel  was  ordered  to  be  leveled  to  the  ground,  and 
Prague  was  put  under  the  interdict.  This  meant  that  mass 
could  not  be  celebrated,  sermons  could  not  be  preached, 
and  that  all  religious  rites,  even  Christian  burial,  were  for- 
bidden. 

Huss  was  willing  to  suffer  himself  for  what  he  believed, 
but  he  did  not  want  the  city  of  Prague  to  suffer  the  hardships 
of  the  interdict.  So  after  long  debate  with  himself  to  de- 
cide what  his  duty  was,  he  went  into  voluntary  exile.  Loyal 
friends  protected  him  in  their  castles. 

THE  COUNCIL  OF  CONSTANCE 
Huss  was  finally  summoned  to  Constance  where  he  was 
to  be  tried.  He  went  willingly,  because  he  thought  he  was  to 
have  a  chance  to  defend  himself.  Sigismund,  the  emperor, 
promised  to  protect  him.  Huss  was  sure  that  he  could  show 
that  he  believed  nothing  but  what  was  taught  in  the  Bible. 
But  the  idea  of  his  enemies  was  that  Huss  was  being  sum- 
moned to  take  back  his  teaching,  or  to  be  punished  for  dis- 
obedience to  the  Church. 

Before  Huss  arrived  his  enemies  had  their  plans  laid. 
Huss,  who  had  expected  the  emperor's  protection,  was  ar- 
rested and  cast  into  a  disgusting  cell,  close  to  the  sewer  and 
filled  with  poisonous  odors.  Later  he  was  thrown  into  a 
dungeon.  During  the  day  his  hands  were  chained  to  a  post, 
and  at  night  his  feet  also.  He  was  allowed  to  suffer  terribly 
from  hunger  and  thirst. 

Huss  had  a  number  of  hearings,  but  instead  of  giving  him 
a  chance  to  explain  and  to  defend  what  he  believed,  false 
charges  were  made  against  him  and  he  was  commanded  to 

35 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


acknowledge  his  errors  and  promise  to  repent.  This  Huss's 
conscience  would  not  let  him  do.  He  said:  "I  do  not  wish 
to  maintain  any  errors,  but  will  humbly  submit  to  the  de- 
crees of  the  council;  but  I  cannot,  without  offending  God 
and  my  conscience,  say  that  I  held  erroneous  opinions, 
which  I  never  held,  and  which  I  never  had  at  heart.  I  beg 
only  that  hearing  may  be  granted  me  that  I  may  express  my 
views  regarding  the  accusations  that  have  been  made  against 
me."  He  would  not  deny  the  truth  of  what  he  believed  in 
order  to  save  his  life. 

HUSS  ENDURES  THE  FLAMES  FOR  CONSCIENCE'  SAKE 
July  6,  1415,  was  set  for  the  execution  of  Huss.  The  coun- 
cil met  in  the  cathedral  and  Huss  was  brought  from  prison 
to  receive  sentence.  The  accusations  against  Huss  were  read 
and  a  last  demand  made  that  he  retract.  When  Huss  said 
that  he  could  not  deny  the  truth,  but  was  willing  to  retract 
anything  which  was  not  true,  if  this  could  be  shown  him, 
he  was  sentenced  to  death.  Then  Huss  knelt  and  prayed: 
"Lord  Jesus  Christ,  forgive  all  my  enemies,  I  entreat  you, 
because  of  your  great  mercifulness.  You  know  that  they 
have  falsely  accused  me,  brought  forth  false  witnesses 
against  me,  devised  false  articles  against  me.  Forgive  them 
because  of  your  immense  mercifulness."  When  he  was 
called  a  Judas,  he  answered  that  he  expected  to  drink  of  the 
cup  of  Christ  in  the  heavenly  Kingdom  that  very  day.  When 
the  bishops  said,  "We  commit  thy  soul  to  the  Devil,"  Huss 
replied,  "And  I  commit  it  to  the  most  sacred  Lord  Jesus 
Christ." 

A  high  paper  cap  resembling  a  dunce  cap  was  placed  on 
his  head  to  make  sport  of  him,  and,  guarded  by  a  force  of 
three  thousand  soldiers,  he  was  led  to  the  place  of  execu- 
tion. "Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  said  Huss,  "I  will  bear  patiently 
and  humbly  this  horrible,  shameful,  and  cruel  death  for  the 
sake  of  the  gospel  and  the  preaching  of  thy  Word."  The 
fagots  of  wood,  mixed  with  straw,  were  piled  about  him  to 

36 


JOHN  HUSS 


his  neck.  When  the  lictors  lighted  the  pile,  Huss  sang, 
"Christ,  Son  of  the  living  God,  have  mercy  on  us."  Soon 
the  flames  blew  in  his  face,  and  his  voice  was  silenced. 
When  his  body  had  been  consumed,  his  ashes  were  cast  into 
the  river  Rhine. 

Huss  was  dead,  but  his  influence  was  not  ended.  Soon 
many  reformers  were  to  rise  who  would  not  only  seek  to  re- 
form the  evil  practices  of  the  Church  of  Rome  but  also  to 
purify  its  teachings  by  proclaiming  the  gospel  as  it  was  first 
taught  in  the  Scriptures  by  Jesus  and  the  apostles. 


37 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Chapter  VI 
MARTIN  LUTHER 

The  Father  of  the  Reformation 
(Born  1453;  died  1546) 

Hans  Luther  rented  a  Httle  furnace  in  Eisleben,  Germany, 
in  which  he  smelted  copper  ore  from  the  mines.  He  was  am- 
bitious, even  if  he  was  poor,  and  when  his  son,  Martin,  was 
six  months  old,  Hans  and  his  wife,  Margareta,  moved  to 
Mansfeld  where  Hans  thought  that  his  business  chances  were 
better.  Here  he  became  the  owner  of  two  furnaces,  and 
won  the  respect  of  the  community  to  such  an  extent  that  he 
was  made  a  member  of  the  village  council. 

Martin  was  strictly  brought  up  and  carefully  taught  at 
home.  At  Mansfeld  where  he  attended  school,  the  children 
were  neither  well  taught  nor  kindly  treated.  Martin's  parents 
were  ambitious  for  their  son  and  hoped  that  he  would  be- 
come a  lawyer.  So  when  he  was  thirteen  he  was  sent  to 
Magdeburg  to  school,  where  a  free  scholarship  was  secured 
for  him.  A  year  later  he  was  sent  to  Eisenach,  where  he 
helped  to  support  himself  by  singing  and  begging.  His 
voice  and  appearance  so  appealed  to  a  family  by  the  name 
of  Gotta  that  they  took  him  in  and  gave  him  a  home.  At 
St.  George's  School  he  had  excellent  teachers  and  learned 
rapidly. 

Early  in  the  boy's  life  he  felt  a  growing  desire  for  some- 
thing besides  learning.  Whenever  he  heard  of  a  famous 
Christian,  he  thought  of  his  own  failings  and  sins,  and 
longed  for  some  way  to  rid  himself  of  his  feeling  of  un- 
worthiness  and  guilt.  Often  he  cried  out  to  himself,  "I  am 
a  sinner — what  must  I  do  to  be  saved?" 

A  UNIVERSITY  STUDENT 
Next  Martin  attended  the  University  of  Erfurt,  then  the 
most  famous  institution  of  learning  in  the  land.    He  at  first 

38 


MARTIiN  LUTHER 


intended  to  study  law.  But  while  he  was  making  progress 
in  the  studies  required  in  the  university,  his  heart  was  seek- 
ing peace  with  God.  When  the  Black  Plague  swept  over  the 
continent,  leaving  death  in  its  trail,  Martin  was  all  the  more 
terrified  because  of  his  sins.  He  was  afraid  to  die.  As  his 
desire  to  get  rid  of  his  sins  increased,  he  decided  in  desper- 
ation to  give  up  law  and  become  a  monk,  thus  hoping  to 
earn  the  forgiveness  of  his  sins  by  his  self-denial. 

A  MONK 

The  monasteries  of  Erfurt  were  many,  but  Luther  chose 
the  best  of  them  all,  that  of  the  Augustinians,  from  which  the 
preachers  of  the  city  came.  The  new  monk  was  set  to  clean- 
ing and  sweeping  and  begging.  Often,  weary  and  exhausted, 
he  staggered  home  to  the  monastery  under  the  heavy  sack 
upon  his  back;  but  he  gladly  bore  every  hardship  in  the 
hope  of  earning  forgiveness  for  his  sins.  He  occupied  a 
cell  seven  by  nine  feet,  with  a  single  narrow  window.  He 
studied  theology  in  the  hope  of  finding  the  way  to  peace. 
Thinking  that  he  could  win  salvation  from  sin  by  his  own 
sufferings,  he  fasted  until  he  fell  in  a  faint,  and  exposed  his 
body  to  the  cold,  and  slept  on  the  stone  floor  without  any 
covering.  But  through  all  these  tortures  he  did  not  find 
peace. 

In  obedience  to  a  neglected  rule  of  the  Augustinians,  Lu- 
ther began  to  read  the  Scriptures.  As  he  read  he  found 
comfort  and  encouragement.  In  1508  he  was  appointed 
instructor  in  the  University  of  Wittenberg,  and  at  this  time 
he  studied  the  Scriptures  with  great  earnestness.  One  day 
he  came  upon  the  sentence  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
"The  righteous  shall  live  by  faith."  Gradually  the  light 
came;  he  saw  that  he  could  not  find  peace  or  salvation 
■through  his  own  works,  but  that  he  must  be  saved  by  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ. 

Later  he  returned  to  Erfurt  to  complete  his  studies.  For 
two  years  he  lectured  there.     Then  he  was  called  back  to 

39 

V 
J; 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Wittenberg  as  professor  of  theology.  Here  he  lectured  on 
the  Scriptures.  He  studied  Hebrew  and  Greek  so  that  he 
could  read  the  Bible  in  its  original  languages.  Out  of  his 
study  came  a  clear  statement  of  the  great  Bible  truth  that 
we  are  saved  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  No  hardships  we  can 
endure  can  earn  us  forgiveness  of  sin;  pardon  comes  only 
through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  At  last  Luther  had  found  the 
secret  of  peace  with  God.  Great  crowds  came  to  listen  to 
his  lectures.     Soon  he  began  to  preach  as  well  as  teach. 

THE  NINETY-FIVE  THESES 

The  doctrine  of  salvation  by  faith  which  he  had  found  in 
the  Bible  and  which  he  taught  and  preached  brought  him 
into  conflict  with  the  pope  and  the  Roman  Church.  At  this 
time  the  pope  was  building  the  Church  of  St.  Peter  and  was 
securing  by  the  sale  of  indulgences  a  great  amount  of  money 
for  this  purpose.  The  Roman  Church  taught  that  the  merit 
of  Christ  and  of  the  saints  was  stored  up  in  the  treasury  of 
the  Church,  to  be  credited  to  individuals  as  the  Church 
chose.  So,  in  return  for  the  payment  of  money,  one  could 
secure  forgiveness  of  sins.  The  people  were  taught  that  in- 
stead of  going  directly  to  be  with  Christ  at  death,  believers 
go  to  purgatory,  an  intermedite  state,  where  by  their  suffer- 
ing they  are  purged  or  cleansed  to  fit  them  for  heaven.  A 
gift  of  money  to  the  Church,  however,  would  shorten  the 
time  in  the  tortures  of  purgatory.  So  the  people  eagerly 
gave  their  money  to  buy  forgiveness  for  themselves  and  to 
shorten  the  suffering  of  their  departed  friends  who  were 
supposed  to  be  in  purgatory. 

Luther  could  not  believe  that  the  pope  approved  of  this 
practice  which  was  so  contrary  to  the  Scriptures,  so  when 
Tetzel,  a  Dominican  monk,  came  to  the  border  of  Saxony 
selling  indulgences,  Luther  wrote  an  argument  against  this 
unwarranted  practice.  This  argument  consisted  of  ninety-five 
statements,  or  theses.  This  paper  was  posted  on  the  door  of 
the  Wittenberg  church  where  Luther  preached.     The  date, 

40 


MARTIN  LUTHER 


October  31,  1517,  marks  the  beginning  of  the  Reformation. 
Luther's  "Ninety-five  Theses"  were  printed  and  scattered 
abroad.  To  his  surprise  the  pope  defended  the  practice  of 
selling  indulgences  and  commanded  Luther  to  take  back  his 
statements,  or  to  "recant,"  as  this  was  called.  Agents  of  the 
pope  tried  to  flatter  and  to  argue  and  to  threaten  Luther  into 
yielding  to  his  demands;  but  Luther  stood  his  ground.  De- 
bates were  engaged  in,  but  the  reformer  could  not  be  con- 
vinced and  came  out  boldly  against  the  claims  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  Then  the  pope  prepared  what  is  called  a 
"bull"  in  which  he  denounced  Luther's  teaching  and  said 
that  if  he  did  not  recant  in  sixty  days  he  would  be  excom- 
municated, or  cast  out  of  the  Church. 

LUTHER  STANDS  BY  HIS  TEACHING 

In  the  presence  of  a  great  crowd  Luther  burned  the  pope's 
bull  and  a  copy  of  the  canon  law  on  which  the  pope  based 
his  false  claims.  This  was  the  reformer's  answer  to  the 
pope. 

Luther  was  summoned  to  the  Imperial  Diet  at  Worms, 
there  to  be  heard  by  the  emperor.  The  pope  hoped  that  the 
reformer  would  be  condemned  and  punished  by  Emperor 
Charles,  who  was  an  ardent  Catholic.  Luther  started  for 
Worms,  and  everywhere  he  went  he  was  received  by  the 
people  with  blessings,  in  spite  of  the  pope's  ban. 

At  the  Diet,  presided  over  by  the  emperor,  he  was  com- 
manded to  recant,  but  he  replied:  "Unless  I  am  convinced  by 
Scripture  and  by  right  reason  (for  I  trust  neither  in  popes 
nor  councils,  since  they  have  often  erred  and  contradicted 
themselves) — unless  I  am  convinced,  I  am  bound  by  the 
texts  of  the  Bible,  my  conscience  is  captive  to  the  Word  of 
God.  I  neither  can  nor  will  recant  anything,  since  it  is 
neither  right  nor  safe  to  act  against  conscience.  Here  I 
stand,  I  cannot  do  otherwise;  God  help  me.    Amen." 

Luther  was  dismissed,  and  he  left  the  city.  While  on  his 
way  home,  his  friends,  fearing  for  his  safety,  took  him  under 

41 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


their  protection  and  held  him  in  the  castle  of  the  Wartburg, 
which  overlooked  Eisenach. 

LUTHER'S  LATER  WORK 

Luther  gave  himself  to  the  task  of  building  up  a  Church 
which  would  teach  the  religion  of  the  Bible.  He  translated 
the  Scriptures  from  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  into  German. 
Since  Wyclif's  day  the  printing  press  had  been  invented, 
and  Luther's  Bible  was  printed  in  large  numbers  and  was 
eagerly  read. 

When  the  spirit  of  freedom  which  followed  Luther's 
heroic  stand  against  the  tyranny  of  the  pope  threatened  un- 
der unwise  leaders  to  turn  into  anarchy  and  riot,  Luther 
left  his  safe  retreat  and  returned  to  Wittenberg,  where  he 
once  more  became  teacher  and  preacher.  When  the  peasants 
threatened  to  rise  against  the  princes,  Luther  tried  to  per- 
suade the  nobles  to  yield  to  the  just  demands  of  the  peasants, 
and  also  to  restrain  the  peasants  from  revolution.  When 
anarchy  seemed  to  threaten,  Luther  sided  with  the  nobles 
against  the  peasants. 

He  had  entirely  broken  away  from  the  Roman  Church  and 
considered  his  monastic  vows  no  longer  binding.  He  mar- 
ried Catharine  von  Bora,  who  had  been  a  nun.  With  his 
family  he  spent  many  happy  years. 

In  all,  Luther  wrote  four  hundred  and  twenty  works. 
Among  the  most  important,  next  to  his  translation  of  the 
Bible,  were  his  catechisms  in  which  he  explained  the  Ten 
Commandments,  the  Creed,  The  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  two 
sacraments. 

The  efforts  of  the  pope  to  stamp  out  the  teaching  of 
Luther  failed.  When  the  Diet  of  Speyer  in  1529  forbade 
the  spread  of  the  Reformation,  the  princes  who  believed  in 
the  teaching  of  Luther  made  a  solemn  protest.  From  this 
"protest"  came  the  name  "Protestant,"  by  which  the  Churches 
of  the  Reformation  are  known  to-day. 


42 


ULRICH  ZWINGLI 


Chapter  VII 
ULRICH  ZWINGLI 

JFho  Brought  the  Reformation  to  Zurich 
(Born  1484;  died  1531) 

Ulrich  Zwingli  had  two  characteristics  which  make  for 
success:  he  knew  how  to  dare,  and  he  knew  how  to  wait. 
When  Zwingli  was  pastor  in  Ziirich,  Switzerland,  word  had 
come  that  the  army  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Forest  Cantons 
(a  "canton"  was  a  state  in  the  Swiss  confederacy)  was 
marching  to  attack  Ziirich.  To  meet  this  army  of  eight 
thousand,  an  advance  guard  of  twelve  hundred  men  was 
hurried  out.  The  Ziirichers  took  their  stand  on  a  piece 
of  high  ground  protected  by  woods  and  a  ditch  and  swamps. 
In  the  night  some  artillery  had  been  added  to  this  advance 
guard.  In  the  meantime  reenforcements  were  gathered,  but 
the  entire  army  of  the  defenders  reached  only  a  total  of 
twenty-seven  hundred  as  against  eight  thousand  from  the 
Forest  Cantons. 

Zwingli  was  the  chaplain  of  the  Ziirich  army,  and  went 
with  the  reenforcements  sent  to  join  the  advance  guard  which 
was  bravely  attempting  to  hold  off  the  Foresters.  As  the 
chief  chaplain,  Zwingli  bore  the  Ziirich  banner.  They  found 
the  advance  guard  in  a  desperate  plight.  The  Ziirich  army 
was  really  not  ready  for  battle.  Should  they  enter  the  fight, 
or  wait  until  they  were  better  organized  and  equipped?  "If 
we  wait  here  until  the  rest  come  up  in  their  leisurely  man- 
ner," said  Zwingli,  "then  I  see  it  will  be  too  late  to  help 
our  countrymen.  We  must  not  stand  here  and  see  our 
friends  suffer  defeat.  I  go  to  them  and  am  prepared  either 
to  die  with  them  and  among  them  or  to  succor  them,  as  God 
pleases." 

Zwingli  took  no  part  in  the  fighting — he  was  a  chaplain — 
but  he  tried  to  encourage  his  countrymen  who  were  so  greatly 
outnumbered.     "Brave,  fellows,"  he  urged,  "take  heart  and 

43 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


fear  nothing.  We  suffer,  if  we  must,  in  a  good  cause.  Com- 
mend yourselves  to  God,  who  is  able  to  care  for  us  and  ours. 
God's  will  be  done." 

This  was  the  spirit  of  Zwingli:  he  knew  how  to  wait 
patiently  for  fruit  from  his  labors,  but  he  had  the  courage 
to  dare  when  he  saw  the  need  for  action.  He  felt  that  he 
could  trust  God,  whatever  came  to  him.  It  was  this  man 
and  this  patient  courage  that  brought  the  Reformation  to 
Zurich.  We  want  to  know  what  he  did  and  how  he  became 
the  great  leader  that  he  was. 

A  BOY  PATRIOT 

Ulrich  Zwingli  was  born  in  Wildhaus,  German  Switzer- 
land, January  1,  1484,  seven  weeks  after  Martin  Luther. 
His  father  was  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  village,  and  his 
uncle  was  abbot  of  a  monastery.  As  a  boy  Ulrich  dreamed 
of  some  day  serving  his  country,  and  exercised  his  body 
and  tried  to  develop  his  skill  in  order  to  become  a  good 
citizen  and  a  soldier.  He  was  given  the  best  education  pos- 
sible. For  a  time  he  was  taught  by  his  uncle;  later  he  went 
to  Berne  to  study,  and  after  that  to  the  University  of  Vienna; 
finally  he  went  to  Basel,  where  he  taught  while  attending 
the  university.  Ulrich  liked  to  debate,  and  his  ability  to  de- 
fend his  side  of  an  argument  made  some  of  his  fellow  stu- 
dents jealous  of  him. 

A  COURAGEOUS  PREACHER 

In  time  Zwingli  became  priest  of  the  church  at  Glarus, 
an  important  charge. 

Because  of  their  reputation  as  unconquerable  fighters  Swiss 
soldiers  were  in  great  demand,  and  hiring  them  became  a 
regular  business.  Prominent  men  of  Glarus  made  a  great 
deal  of  money  by  the  practice.  Zwingli  began  to  condemn 
the  hiring  of  Swiss  soldiers  to  fight  for  foreign  rulers.  It 
was  degrading  and  weakening  the  nation.  Although  he  knew 
powerful  men  of  Glarus  would  oppose  him  because  they 

44 


ULRICH  ZWINGLI 


were  making  fortunes  by  hiring  soldiers  to  foreign  princes, 
Zwingli  came  out  boldly  against  the  practice. 

Next  Zwingli  went  to  Einsiedeln.  Here  was  a  famous 
chapel  to  which  people  came  even  from  distant  places  to 
seek  miraculous  healing.  Zwingli  studied  the  Bible.  He 
also  began  to  learn  Greek  in  order  to  study  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  the  original  language.  Through  his  study  of  the 
Bible  he  came  to  see  that  many  of  the  claims  and  teachings 
of  the  Romish  Church  had  no  foundation  in  the  Scriptures. 
He  was  led  also  to  believe  that  the  true  authority  in  religion 
is  the  Bible,  and  that  when  the  teaching  or  the  practices  of 
the  Church  contradict  the  Bible,  the  Church  must  be  wrong. 

From  Einsiedeln  he  was  called  to  Zurich.  Here  his  fame 
as  a  preacher  spread.  In  the  church  he  preached  courses  of 
sermons  explaining  various  books  of  the  Bible,  and  preached 
to  the  people  in  the  market  place  on  market  days.  His 
preaching  of  the  Bible  slowly  but  surely  prepared  the  way 
for  the  Reformation  in  Ziirich.  Zwingli,  like  Luther, 
preached  against  the  practice  of  selling  indulgences. 

Testing  the  teaching  and  practices  of  the  Church  by  the 
Scriptures  soon  led  him  to  oppose  many  things  because  they 
were  not  taught  in  God's  Word.  One  of  the  first  of  these 
was  the  rule  requiring  fasting  in  Lent,  or  the  forty  days 
before  Easter.  Fasting  in  Lent  was  not  taught  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  therefore  should  not  be  demanded  of  Christians. 
Then  Zwingli  began  to  preach  about  the  practice  of  praying 
to  the  saints,  or  "the  adoration  of  the  saints."  In  studying 
the  Bible,  Zwingli  found  no  ground  for  praying  to  anyone 
but  God.  The  Roman  Catholic  Church  taught  that  men 
could  save  themselves  by  their  good  works.  But  Zwingli  in 
his  study  of  the  Bible  was  led  to  the  same  truth  which 
Luther  discovered  in  the  Bible,  that  we  are  saved  by  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ. 

Zwingli  was  called  upon  to  defend  his  teaching  against  the 
best  debaters  the  pope  could  find,  but  always  Zwingli  in- 
sisted that  what  he  taught  was  based  upon  the  Word  of  God 

45 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


and  that  those  who  opposed  him  must  show  that  what  they 
taught  was  taught  in  the  Bible  and  that  what  he  taught  was 
not  taught  in  God's  Word.  Because  they  could  not  do  this, 
he  won  many  supporters,  and  the  Reformation  grew  in 
Zurich. 

The  reformer's  patient  and  continued  preaching  of  the 
Bible  gradually  led  the  people  of  Ziirich  to  give  up  many 
of  the  teachings  and  practices  of  the  Romish  Church.  Saints' 
days  were  no  longer  observed.  The  annual  processions  to 
Einsiedeln,  to  worship  relics  of  the  chapel  there,  were  dis- 
continued. 

The  Catholics  called  the  Lord's  Supper  "the  Mass,"  and 
looked  upon  it  as  a  sacrifice  for  sins,  as  if  Jesus  were  cruci- 
fied again.  The  Romish  Church  taught  that  the  bread  and 
the  cup  of  the  Lord's  Supper  were  changed  so  that  they  were 
no  longer  bread  and  the  juice  of  the  grape,  but  the  real  flesh 
and  the  real  blood  of  Jesus.  They  worshiped  the  bread,  or 
wafer,  as  Christ.  But  Zwingli  persuaded  the  people  that  the 
Lord's  Supper  was  intended  to  remind  us  of  Jesus'  death  as 
the  Lamb  of  God,  offered  once  for  all  as  a  sacrifice  for  sin. 
Instead  of  the  mass,  the  Lord's  Supper  was  observed  in 
Zurich. 

Then,  because  the  people  had  been  taught  to  venerate  and 
practically  to  worship  the  images  of  the  saints,  images  and 
pictures  were  taken  out  of  the  churches. 

ZWINGLI  AND  LUTHER 

Both  Zwingli  and  Luther  came  to  believe  as  they  did 
through  the  study  of  the  Scriptures.  Many  friends  of  the 
two  reformers  thought  that  if  they  could  bring  them  to- 
gether with  their  followers,  it  would  be  a  great  aid  to  the 
Reformation.  A  conference  was  arranged.  They  agreed  on 
almost  every  point  except  the  Lord's  Supper.  Luther  still 
believed  that  although  there  was  no  change  in  the  material 
in  the  bread  and  the  juice  of  the  grape,  yet  somehow  the 
real  flesh  and  blood  of  Jesus  were  in  them.      Zwingli,  how- 

46 


ULRICH  ZWINGLI 


ever,  said  that  the  Lord's  Supper  was  a  memorial  of  Christ's 
death,  and  that  he  was  present  only  spiritually,  so  they  could 
not  agree. 

ZWINGLI'S  DEATH 

As  the  Reformation  spread  in  Ziirich  and  other  cantons  of 
Switzerland,  it  met  with  opposition  from  the  strongly  Roman 
Catholic  cantons,  known  as  the  Five  Cantons  or  the  Forest 
Cantons.  They  were  accused  of  persecuting  preachers  of  the 
Reformation.  The  Reform  Cantons  felt  that  this  was  in- 
fringing on  their  liberty  and  the  bitter  feeling  which  resulted 
led  to  war. 

The  Forest  Cantons  agreed  to  permit  preaching  by  the  re- 
formers in  their  cantons,  but  they  went  back  on  their  agree- 
ment and  marched  against  the  Ziirichers.  It  was  the  battle 
that  followed  which  was  mentioned  at  the  beginning  of  this 
lesson.  The  twenty-seven  hundred  Ziirichers  fought  valiantly 
against  the  overwhelming  odds  of  eight  thousand  Foresters, 
but  were  defeated.  Five  hundred  of  them  fell  in  the  battle, 
among  them  Zwingli,  whose  body  was  shamefully  treated  by 
the  Foresters. 

On  a  great  stone  marking  the  spot  where  he  is  supposed  to 
have  died,  are  cut  his  words,  "You  can  kill  the  body,  but  you 
cannot  kill  the  soul." 


47 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Chapter  VIII 
JOHN  CALVIN 

A  Timid  Man  Who  Transformed  a  City 
(Born  1509;  died  1564) 

One  day  in  the  year  1536,  five  years  after  Zwingli  fell  in 
the  battle  of  Cappel,  two  men  met  unexpectedly  in  a  little 
inn  in  Geneva,  a  city  of  French  Switzerland.  One  of  these 
men  was  William  Farel,  a  heroic  Protestant  who  had  been 
preaching  in  Geneva.  He  had  defied  prison  and  ill  treat- 
ment. Covered  with  wounds  and  dripping  with  blood,  he 
had  appeared  before  the  people  to  preach  the  gospel.  He 
had  dared  to  undertake  the  reformation  of  Geneva;  but 
helpers  had  failed  him,  and  he  had  discovered  that  Geneva 
needed  some  one  who  could  organize  the  church. 

The  second  man  was  John  Calvin,  a  young  man  of  twenty- 
seven.  A  student,  modest,  retiring,  and  timid,  he  was  seek- 
ing a  quiet  place  where  he  might  continue  his  studies  away 
from  strife.  Farel  felt  that  this  student  was  the  man  to  make 
Geneva  a  city  of  God.  Here  was  a  task  for  a  real  leader, 
for  Geneva  had  surpassed  all  other  towns  for  centuries  in 
unbridled  pleasures,  and  it  boasted  strong  men  who  were 
rebellious  and  hard  to  tame.  Farel  told  Calvin  that  God 
called  him  to  labor  in  Geneva. 

"I  am  timorous  and  shy  by  nature,"  the  student  answered. 
"How,  then,  shall  I  be  able  to  fight  against  those  raging 
waves?" 

"You  think  of  nothing  but  rest,"  thundered  Farel,  his  eyes 
flashing.  "You  trouble  yourself  about  nothing  else  than 
your  studies.  Well,  then,  in  the  name  of  the  Almighty  I  tell 
you  that,  unless  you  give  ear  to  his  call,  your  plans  he  will 
not  bless." 

To  John  Calvin  this  was  the  call  of  God,  and  he  answered 
it  with  all  courage.  He  was  timid  and  retiring,  but  no  dan- 
ger could  turn  him  back  when  he  had  heard  God's  call. 

48 


JOHN  CALVIN 


Like  Joshua  of  old,  he  was  ready  to  go  forward  with  God, 
though  giants  and  walled  cities  were  before  him. 

HIS  EARLY  TRAINING 

Once  more  we  are  reminded  that  leaders  must  be  prepared 
for  their  work.  God  had  peculiarly  fitted  this  young  man 
of  twenty-seven  to  become  the  great  leader  in  Geneva.  Cal- 
vin was  born  in  Noyon,  in  Picardy,  France,  in  1509,  eight 
years  before  Luther  nailed  the  Ninety-five  Theses  on  the 
door  of  the  church  in  Wittenberg.  As  a  boy  he  was  delicate, 
pale,  and  nervous,  but  his  father,  an  attorney  and  public 
official,  saw  that  he  had  a  fine  mind  and  planned  to  make 
the  most  of  his  talents. 

After  attending  school  near  home,  he  was  sent  to  the 
famous  University  of  Paris.  There  he  mastered  the  art  of 
writing  well  and  led  his  classes.  He  was  especially  good  as 
a  debater.  When  he  was  convinced  of  the  truth,  his  timid 
nature  did  not  keep  him  from  saying  what  he  believed. 

Calvin  was  led  by  a  relative  to  study  the  Scriptures. 
Brought  up  as  a  Roman  Catholic,  at  first  he  violently  op- 
posed the  teaching  that  we  must  be  saved  by  the  unmerited 
kindness  of  God,  but  as  he  more  and  more  became  conscious 
of  his  own  sinfulness  he  began  to  wonder  if  it  was  not  in- 
deed true  that  if  he  was  to  be  saved  at  all  it  must  be  by  the 
mercy  of  God,  and  not  by  any  merit  of  his  own.  As  he 
read  the  Bible  he  discovered  the  great  truth  which  Luther 
and  Zwingli  also  had  found,  and  he  cried,  "0  Father,  the 
sacrifice  of  thy  Son  has  turned  away  thy  wrath;  his  blood 
has  washed  away  my  sins:  his  cross  has  borne  my  curse." 

It  was  decided  that  Calvin  was  to  study  law,  so  he  went 
to  Orleans,  where  he  studied  under  the  greatest  of  law  teach- 
ers. Here  Calvin  made  such  progress  that  the  great  teacher 
asked  him  to  lecture  in  his  place.  This  he  did  with  such 
success  that  he  was  expected  to  be  the  successor  of  the  great 
jurist.  He  also  studied  Greek,  and  was  thus  prepared  to 
study  the  New  Testament  in  its  original  language. 

49 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


A  FUGITIVE 

In  Paris,  Protestants  were  bitterly  persecuted.  A  number 
of  them  had  been  put  to  death.  The  Sorbonne,  as  the  theo- 
logical faculty  of  the  university  was  called,  was  determined 
to  crush  the  Protestant  faith.  On  All  Saints'  Day  in  1533, 
a  friend  of  Calvin's,  Nicholas  Cop,  the  rector  of  the  uni- 
versity, was  to  deliver  the  address.  He  asked  Calvin  to 
write  it.  This  address  set  the  Sorbonne  in  a  rage,  and  Cop 
took  flight  to  escape  prison.  Calvin  also  made  his  escape 
from  Paris.  He  went  from  place  to  place,  seeking  quiet  in 
order  to  continue  his  studies.  When  the  Protestants  were 
being  misrepresented  and  slandered,  Calvin  undertook  to 
write  a  defense  of  Protestantism.  This  book  he  called  "The 
Institutes  of  the  Christian  Religion."  He  boldly  addressed 
it  to  the  king.  This  book,  afterwards  enlarged,  is  one  of 
the  greatest  books  ever  written. 

Calvin  preached  his  Protestant  doctrines  in  Ferrara,  Italy, 
but  persecution  soon  drove  him  out.  He  intended  to  go  to 
Strassburg.  It  was  while  on  his  way  there  that  he  met  Farel 
in  Geneva  and  was  persuaded  to  aid  in  the  work  in  that  city. 

IN  GENEVA 

Farel  had  already  won  a  large  following  in  Geneva  by  his 
powerful  preaching,  but  Calvin  now  became  the  great  cham- 
pion of  the  Protestant  faith.  Leaders  in  the  Swiss  city  of 
Berne  planned  a  disputation,  as  such  discussions  were  called, 
in  which  champions  of  the  Romish  Church  would  debate 
with  the  champions  of  Protestantism.  Three  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  priests  were  invited,  but  four  hundred  and  sev- 
enty came.  Calvin  answered  the  arguments  of  his  opponents 
by  quoting  the  most  important  of  "the  Fathers,"  as  the  an- 
cient Church  writers  were  called,  and  administered  a  crush- 
ing defeat.  Some  who  had  been  bitter  against  the  Reform- 
ers became  fellow  workers,  and  within  a  few  months  more 
than  one  hundred  and  twenty  priests  and  vicars  and  over 
eighty  monks  became  Protestants. 

50 


JOHN  CALVIN 


Not  everyone  was  happy  over  the  changes  Calvin  and 
Farel  wanted  to  make  in  Geneva.  Many  did  not  wish  to 
live  as  the  Reformers  taught  Christians  should  live.  Some 
of  them  wanted  to  be  members  of  the  Church  and  still  live 
as  they  pleased.  But  Calvin  insisted  upon  discipline.  If 
people  did  not  live  as  Christians  ought,  they  must  not  be 
permitted  to  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  Politics  added 
to  the  difficulties  of  the  Reformers.  Some  supported  Calvin 
and  Farel  while  others  opposed  them.  Their  enemies  be- 
came strong  enough  to  persuade  the  government  to  forbid 
them  to  preach,  but  they  believed  that  the  State  had  no  right 
to  dictate  to  the  Church,  and  insisted  upon  preaching.  Then 
Farel  and  Calvin  were  ordered  to  leave  the  city.  "Well,  in- 
deed!" answered  Calvin.  "If  we  had  served  men,  we  should 
have  been  ill  rewarded,  but  we  serve  a  great  Master  who 
will  recompense  us." 

THE  RECALL  OF  CALVIN 

Calvin  went  to  Strassburg,  Germany,  where  there  were 
many  of  his  fellow  countrymen  who  had  fled  from  France. 
To  them  he  ministered.  In  the  meantime  the  feeling  in 
Geneva  was  changing.  The  patriots  there  began  to  realize 
what  these  preachers  of  the  gospel  had  done  for  their  city, 
and  they  were  eager  to  have  them  back.  Geneva  needed 
these  strong  men.  For  a  long  time  Calvin  resisted  the  call. 
When  Farel  urged  him  to  come  to  Geneva  again,  he  said, 
"If  I  were  given  the  choice,  I  would  do  anything  rather  than 
yield  to  you  in  this  matter;  but  since  I  remember  that  I  am 
not  my  own,  I  off"er  my  heart  as  if  slain  in  sacrifice  to  the 
Lord." 

When  he  returned  to  Geneva,  a  great  crowd  thronged  the 
church  to  hear  him  preach.  It  was  Calvin's  hope  to  make 
Geneva  a  model  Christian  community.  A  constitution  was 
adopted  which  separated  Church  and  State  and  gave  freedom 
to  each  to  conduct  its  own  affairs. 

Many  wondered  how  a  Church  could  be  governed  without 

51 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


a  pope  or  a  bishop  at  its  head;  but  Calvin  planned  to  have 
the  Church  governed  by  a  consistory,  composed  of  ministers 
and  elders.  This  is  one  of  the  greatest  services  which  Cal- 
vin rendered  the  Protestant  Church.  He  showed  that  a 
Church  could  be  organized  and  governed  without  pope  or 
bishop. 

Calvin  believed  in  education,  and  under  his  leadership 
the  schools  of  Geneva  were  developed.  He  believed,  also, 
that  a  religious  city  should  be  an  industrious  city,  and  per- 
suaded the  authorities  to  develop  the  weaving  industry.  He 
believed,  too,  in  guarding  the  public  health  and  so  estab- 
lished health  laws  which  were  wonderful  for  the  sixteenth 
century.  Thus  religion,  education,  and  industry  made 
Geneva  a  prosperous  city,  and  it  became  the  refuge  of  thou- 
sands of  fugitives  from  other  countries. 

A  CHAMPION  OF  DISCIPLINE 

The  strict  rule  of  the  city  under  the  leadership  of  Calvin 
put  an  end  to  many  evil  practices.  But,  as  was  the  case  when 
Farel  and  Calvin  first  attempted  to  reform  the  city,  they  met 
with  opposition.  Some  especially  found  fault  because  Cal- 
vin insisted  that  those  who  were  not  living  as  Christians 
should,  must  not  be  permitted  to  partake  of  the  Lord's 
Supper. 

When  resentment  against  Calvin  was  at  its  height  he  went 
boldly  into  the  town  hall,  in  spite  of  the  drawn  daggers  that 
threatened  him.  "If  you  desire  my  blood — here  it  is!"  he 
said.  "If  you  want  to  banish  me — I  will  go.  And  you  may 
try  once  more  to  save  the  town  without  the  gospel."  No  one, 
however,  dared  to  lay  hands  on  him.  They  drew  back  re- 
spectfully to  let  him  pass. 

Calvin's  enemies  were  determined  to  break  his  power.  The 
party  which  opposed  him  was  known  as  "The  Libertines."  A 
prominent  Libertine  had  been  told  not  to  come  to  the  Lord's 
Supper  because  of  his  evil  life.  But  his  friends  insisted  that 
he  should  come  in  spite  of  Calvin.     They  thought  Calvin 

52 


JOHN  CALVIN 


would  not  dare  to  insist  upon  discipline.  When  the  time  for 
service  came,  Calvin  entered  the  pulpit.  He  saw  the  man 
in  the  congregation.  After  the  introduction  to  the  Lord's 
Supper,  he  said:  "As  long  as  God  permits  me  to  stay  here, 
I  shall  show  the  constancy  he  has  granted  me,  whatever  may 
happen.  And  I  shall  follow  the  line  of  conduct  which  my 
Master  has  made  perfectly  clear  to  me."  He  took  his  place 
at  the  Communion  table.  The  Libertine  came  forward  to 
take  the  bread  and  the  cup.  "These  hands  you  may  cut 
off,"  said  Calvin,  "these  limbs  crush,  here  is  my  blood — 
shed  it.  You  will  never  compel  me  to  give  what  is  holy  to 
the  godless." 

The  Libertine  stopped,  then  hesitated,  and  then  left  the 
church.     Calvin  had  conquered. 

A  PROTESTANT  CENTER 

From  many  lands  students  came  to  Geneva  to  study  under 
Calvin  and  then  went  back  to  their  own  countries  to  extend 
the  Protestant  Church.  He  influenced  France,  Italy,  Ger- 
many, Holland,  England,  and  Scotland.  He  lived  to  see 
twenty-one  hundred  and  fifty  reformed  congregations  organ- 
ized in  France. 

Month  after  month  and  year  after  year  Calvin  labored  in 
spite  of  physical  weakness  and  pain.  He  had  to  conquer  his 
own  frail  body  as  well  as  difficulties  and  foes. 

When  the  end  came.  May  27,  1564,  when  Calvin  was  in 
his  fifty-fifth  year,  he  could  say,  "In  all  my  battles  with  the 
enemies  of  the  truth  ...  I  have  fought  the  good  fight 
squarely  and  directly." 


53 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Chapter  IX 
JOHN  KNOX 

Scotland's  Protestant  Champion 
(Born   1505;    died   1572) 

George  Wishart,  who  had  come  under  the  influence  of  the 
teachings  of  John  Calvin,  was  fired  with  zeal  for  the  gos- 
pel as  it  was  taught  in  Geneva.  His  preaching  stirred  Scot- 
land. There  was  need  of  preachers  like  Wishart  in  Scot- 
land. The  Romish  Church  had  become  very  corrupt.  The 
higher  clergy  lived  like  nobles  and  gave  little  or  no  thought 
to  religion.  Friars  swarmed  like  locusts  and,  because  of 
their  low  morals,  were  a  corrupting  influence  in  society. 
The  parish  priests  were  so  ignorant  that  they  could  not 
preach.  Driven  from  one  place  Wishart  preached  in  an- 
other until,  at  last,  he  was  arrested  and  condemned  to  death. 
He  was  burned  at  the  stake  at  St.  Andrews,  while  Cardinal 
Beaton,  w4io  had  brought  about  his  death  looked  on  from  the 
window  of  his  palace. 

Roused  by  such  cruelty,  which  they  called  murder,  a  few 
men  determined  to  avenge  the  death  of  Wishart.  After  stab- 
bing the  cardinal  to  death,  they  seized  the  Castle  of  St.  An- 
drews and  defied  the  government.  Many  others  who  sought 
refuge  from  persecution,  although  they  had  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  death  of  Cardinal  Beaton,  joined  the  defenders 
of  the  castle.  Among  them  was  a  man  by  the  name  of  John 
Knox. 

These  Protestants  believed  that  the  preaching  of  the  Word 
of  God  was  important  and  so,  in  the  castle,  services  were 
held  regularly.  Knox  was  urged  to  become  their  minister; 
but  he  declined.  Like  Calvin,  he  much  preferred  to  listen 
to  others  and  to  study.  But,  as  Farel  called  Calvin  to  a  place 
of  leadership,  so  John  Rough,  a  minister  who  was  in  the 
castle,  called  John  Knox.  After  preaching  a  sermon  on  the 
election  of  ministers.  Rough  suddenly  turned  to  Knox,  "In 

54 


JOHN  KNOX 


the  name  of  God  and  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  the 
name  of  those  here  present  who  call  you  by  my  mouth,  I 
charge  you  that  you  refuse  not  this  holy  vocation  .  .  .  even 
as  you  look  to  avoid  God's  heavy  displeasure." 

Knox  fled  to  his  room.  Like  Moses,  he  said,  "Who  am  I, 
that  I  should  undertake  this  great  work?"  After  days  of 
struggle  he  answered  the  call.  At  the  close  of  his  first 
sermon,  his  hearers  said:  "Others  lop  off"  the  branches  of 
the  papacy,  but  he  strikes  at  the  root,  to  destroy  the  whole. 
Master  George  Wishart  spoke  never  so  plainly,  and  he  was 
burnt;  even  so  will  he  be."  The  congregation  in  the  castle 
soon  came  to  respect  and  honor  and  love  their  minister. 
Others,  too,  came  to  share  their  feeling,  for  John  Knox  be- 
came the  great  Protestant  leader  of  Scotland. 

KNOX'S  EARLY  TRAINING 

Moses  was  educated  in  the  schools  of  Egypt,  tested  by  ex- 
ile, and  trained  in  the  wilderness,  in  order  to  become  the 
deliverer  of  Israel.  So  was  John  Knox  trained  for  his  place 
in  history  by  study,  by  hardship,  by  meditation.  He  was 
born  in  Haddington,  Scotland,  probably  in  the  year  1505, 
just  four  years  before  John  Calvin.  He  was  taught  in  the 
town  school  and  in  the  high  school,  and  then  became  a  stu- 
dent in  the  University  of  Glasgow.  Here  he  studied  under 
John  Major,  the  "most  renowned  professor  in  the  country." 
He  studied  Latin,  Greek,  Hebrew,  and  French.  He  became 
a  priest,  but  was  led  to  reject  the  teaching  and  the  practices 
of  the  Romish  Church. 

When  the  life  of  George  Wishart  was  threatened  because 
he  insisted  upon  preaching  the  gospel,  John  Knox  carried  a 
great  two-handed  sword  which  he  stood  ready  to  wield  in  his 
defense.  After  Wishart's  death,  as  we  have  learned,  Knox 
was  among  those  who  sought  refuge  in  the  Castle  of  St.  An- 
drews. 


55 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


FROM  GALLEY  SLAVE  TO  PREACHER 

The  defenders  of  the  castle  were  captured  by  a  French 
force.  Knox  became  a  gaHey  slave  and,  for  a  year  and  a 
half,  was  compelled  to  row  in  chains.  But  through  his  hard- 
ship he  had  learned  to  pray  and  to  trust  God  as  never  be- 
fore. When  he  was  set  free  he  preached  in  England  and 
then  went  to  Switzerland,  where  he  came  under  the  influence 
of  Calvin.  After  many  experiences  he  returned  to  Scotland, 
to  spend  the  remaining  years  of  his  life  in  heroic  service 
for  his  native  land. 

IN  SCOTLAND 

Mary  of  Lorraine,  the  Regent  of  Scotland,  was  laying  her 
plans  to  make  Scotland  Catholic;  but  John  Knox  exposed 
the  false  claims  of  the  Romish  Church.  Especially  did  he 
oppose  the  celebration  of  the  mass,  urging  instead  the  sim- 
ple observance  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

As  we  have  seen  in  the  chapter  about  Zwingli,  the  Roman 
Catholics  taught  that  when  the  bread  and  the  cup  were  conse- 
crated in  the  celebration  of  the  mass,  they  became  the  actual 
flesh  and  blood  of  Jesus  and  so  should  be  reverenced  as  the 
real  presence  of  Christ.  John  Knox  declared  that  to  bow  to 
the  bread  was  idolatry.  Instead  of  the  elaborate  ceremony 
of  the  mass  in  Latin,  he  observed  the  simple  Lord's  Supper, 
using  the  language  of  the  people.  When  the  queen  regent 
died,  a  meeting  of  Parliament  was  called  and  a  confession 
of  faith  was  adopted.  The  rights  of  the  pope  in  Scotland 
were  denied,  and  the  celebration  of  the  mass  was  forbid- 
den. The  Protestant  Church  was  planned  to  take  the  place 
of  the  Church  which  had  been  ruled  by  pope  and  bishops, 
and  so  to  govern  the  Church  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland  was  organized. 

KNOX  AND  QUEEN  MARY 

The  victory  was  not  yet  won,  however,  for  Mary,  the  new 
queen  of  Scotland,  who  was  educated  and  trained  in  France, 

56 


JOHN  KNOX 


a  beautiful  and  brilliant  woman,  was  a  stanch  Roman  Cath- 
olic. In  her  chapel,  mass  was  celebrated.  In  the  eyes  of 
Knox  this  was  nothing  less  than  idolatry,  so  he  denounced 
the  queen's  act  in  a  sermon.  When  summoned  to  court, 
Knox  insisted  upon  his  right  to  speak  what  he  believed. 
When  the  queen  declared  that  she  believed  in  the  Church  of 
Rome,  Knox  answered  that  the  claims  of  the  Romish  Church 
had  no  foundation  in  the  Scriptures.  "You  interpret  the 
Scriptures  in  one  way,"  said  the  queen,  "and  they  in  an- 
other; whom  shall  I  believe,  and  who  shall  be  judge?" 
"You  shall  believe  God,  who  plainly  speaketh  in  his  Word, 
above  Your  Majesty  and  the  most  learned  papists  of  all 
Europe,"  was  Knox's  reply. 

Again  and  again  Knox  was  summoned  by  the  queen.  She 
tried  to  win  him  by  persuasion,  sometimes  by  tears,  some- 
times by  flattery,  and  sometimes  by  angry  threats;  but  Knox 
stood  for  his  convictions.  The  queen  feared  this  man,  v/hose 
"voice  could  put  more  life  into  his  followers  than  six  hun- 
dred trumpets  bloAving  incessantly."  When  accused  of  trea- 
son, his  defense  was  so  convincing  that  even  some  of  his 
enemies  voted  for  his  acquittal,  and  he  went  free. 

Queen  Mary's  conduct  finally  stirred  such  feeling  against 
her  in  Scotland  that  she  was  forced  to  renounce  the  throne. 
Under  Murray  as  regent,  the  Protestant  Church  prospered. 
To  the  very  last,  Knox  preached  the  gospel  without  ceasing. 
In  spite  of  threats  and  attempts  on  his  life,  he  went  on  in 
his  work  until  1572.  At  his  funeral.  Regent  Morton  said, 
"Here  lies  one  who  never  feared  the  face  of  man." 


57 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Chapter  X 
JOHN  WESLEY 

IFho  Took  Christ  to  the  People 
(Born  1703;  died  1791) 

In  every  age  the  true  religion  has  been  preserved  by  heroic 
men  of  faith  and  loyalty  to  God.  In  the  days  of  Ahab 
idolatry  had  spread  in  Israel  to  such  an  extent  that  there 
seemed  to  be  few  who  still  believed  in  and  served  the  true 
God.  Then  came  Elijah,  the  champion  of  Jehovah,  and  sum- 
moned the  people  to  Mount  Carmel,  where,  by  the  test  of 
fire,  he  convinced  the  people  that  Jehovah  was  the  true 
God. 

The  true  religion  seemed  just  as  much  in  peril  in  Eng- 
I'and  in  the  eighteenth  century.  It  seemed  as  if  the  Reforma- 
tion had  been  almost  in  vain.  There  seemed  to  be  little 
real  faith  in  God.  People  lived  wicked  lives,  and  were  not 
ashamed.  Public  men  were  without  character.  Talk  was 
profane  and  unclean.  Those  who  did  believe  in  God  thought 
of  him  as  far  away  and  not  concerned  with  them.  The 
working  classes  were  oppressed,  and  were  unruly  and  re- 
bellious. The  people  did  not  go  to  church;  and  the  preach- 
ing in  the  church  would  not  have  helped  them  much  if  they 
had  gone.  There  was  desperate  need  of  some  messenger  of 
God  like  Elijah,  who  would  convince  people  that  there  is, 
indeed,  a  righteous  God  to  whom  men  must  answer  for  their 
sins  and  who  is  ready  and  eager  to  save  men  from  their  sins. 

The  man  who,  under  God,  did  most  to  restore  true  re- 
ligion was  John  Wesley. 

A  MINISTER'S  SON 

John  Wesley,  who  was  born  in  1703,  at  Epworth,  in  Lin- 
coln, England,  was  one  of  nineteen  children.  His  mother 
was  a  woman  of  wonderful  Christian  character  and  intelli- 
gence.   His  father  was  a  minister  in  the  Church  of  England, 

58 


JOHN  WESLEY 


with  a  small  salary.  We  can  imagine  that  there  were  no 
luxuries  in  a  family  so  large  and  with  so  little  money.  When 
John  was  about  six  years  old  their  house  burned  down  and 
the  new  house  was  for  years  only  partly  furnished. 

When  John  Wesley  was  eleven  years  old  he  was  sent  to 
Charterhouse  School  in  London.  At  school  he  was  bullied 
and  abused,  but  he  showed  such  courage  and  patience  that 
he  won  his  way  to  favor,  and  he  gained  a  reputation  for 
knowledge.  Next  he  went  to  Oxford,  the  famous  university 
which  Wyclif  had  attended  four  centuries  before.  He  gradu- 
ated with  honors,  and  entered  the  ministry  of  the  Church  of 
England.  Later  he  returned  to  Oxford,  where  he  both  studied 
and  taught. 

At  this  time  he  and  a  few  friends,  among  them  his  brother 
Charles,  who  is  so  well  known  for  his  hymns,  and  George 
Whitefield,  afterwards  an  eloquent  and  powerful  preacher, 
formed  what  was  called  the  "Holy  Club."  They  were  care- 
ful about  times  of  prayer  and  meditation,  Bible-reading,  and 
partaking  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  They  also  visited  the  poor 
and  prisoners  in  the  jail,  and  helped  those  who  were  in 
need.  Because  they  were  so  regular,  or  methodical,  in  the 
observance  of  religious  rules,  they  were  called  "Methodists," 
a  name  which  was  afterwards  given  to  the  Church  which 
grew  out  of  John  Wesley's  work. 

MISSIONARY  TO  GEORGIA 

Earnest  as  John  Wesley  was  in  his  religious  life,  he  did 
not  understand  the  great  truth  which  Luther,  Zwingli,  Cal- 
vin, and  Knox  had  learned  and  preached.  He  did  not  under- 
stand that  our  sins  are  forgiven  and  that  we  have  peace  with 
God  through  faith  in  the  Saviour  who  died  for  us.  He 
thought  that  he  must  earn  his  own  salvation  by  his  good 
life. 

John  and  his  brother  went  as  missionaries  to  the  colony 
of  Georgia,  which  had  been  founded  by  General  Oglethorpe. 
On  the  vessel  was  a  band  of  Moravian  missionaries.    Wesley 

59 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


was  deeply  impressed  by  their  courage  and  peacefulness  in 
a  terrible  storm.  They  seemed  to  have  a  trust  in  God  which 
he  did  not  have.  Through  these  Moravians  his  attention  was 
called  to  the  great  truth  that  we  must  depend  upon  Jesus 
Christ  alone  for  salvation,  instead  of  depending  upon  our 
own  righteousness.  This  was  the  beginning  of  new  things 
for  John  Wesley. 

IN  ENGLAND  AGAIN 

Wesley  returned  to  England  and  sought  out  the  Moravians 
and  learned  more  of  their  teaching.  At  last  he  experienced 
God's  saving  power  in  his  own  life. 

Wesley  now  became  an  earnest  preacher  of  the  gospel. 
Many  of  the  ministers  of  the  Church  of  England,  not  in  sym- 
pathy with  his  preaching,  closed  their  pulpits  to  him.  About 
this  time  George  Wliitefield  was  preaching  to  the  people  in 
the  open  air.  This  reminds  us  of  Wyclif,  but  to  Wesley  it 
seemed  an  improper  thing  to  do;  the  gospel,  he  thought, 
should  be  preached  only  in  the  church.  But  when  he  saw 
thousands  moved  to  tears  and  repentance,  he  was  convinced 
that  preaching  to  the  people  outside  the  church  was  right 
after  all.  So  he,  too,  began  to  preach  in  the  open  air,  in 
Bristol,  London,  and  Newcastle. 

WESLEY'S  COURAGE 

Wesley  had  to  bear  the  opposition  and  criticism  of  min- 
isters and  bishops  of  the  Church  of  England  which  he  loved. 
They  insisted  that  if  the  people  did  not  come  to  the  church 
to  hear  the  gospel  they  should  not  hear  it  at  all.  The  people, 
too,  were  stirred  up  against  him.  On  one  occasion  a  mob 
tried  to  brain  him  with  clubs,  but  his  courage  and  self-con- 
trol calmed  those  who  were  nearest  to  him,  and  the  enraged 
crowd  drew  back  to  let  him  pass  through  unharmed.  Re- 
cruits from  the  mob  became  his  bodyguard,  and  mob  leaders 
became  class  leaders,  as  those  in  charge  of  groups  of  con- 
verts were  called.  Within  twelve  years  he  had  enlisted 
eighty-five  lay  preachers  as  helpers  in  his  work. 

60 


JOHN  WESLEY 


Wesley  was  a  tremendous  worker.  He  rose  at  four  in  the 
morning  and  frequently  preached  at  five.  Every  unoccu- 
pied moment  was  used  for  reading,  study,  and  writing.  He 
crossed  St.  George's  Channel  nearly  fifty  times  and  traveled 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  miles  on  land.  He  spent 
as  many  as  twenty  hours  in  the  saddle  and  traveled  ninety 
miles  in  a  day,  once  covering  two  hundred  and  eighty  miles 
in  twenty-four  hours.  Nothing  would  hold  him  back.  He 
would  press  on  though  crusted  from  head  to  foot  with  ice. 
When  the  road  was  covered  with  water  he  drove  through  the 
surf.  In  fifty  years  of  his  ministry  he  delivered  forty-two 
thousand  sermons,  an  average  of  fifteen  a  week. 

THE  METHODIST  CHURCH 

Through  the  preaching  of  Wesley  and  his  assistants,  thou- 
sands were  led  to  accept  Christ  as  their  Saviour.  The  faith 
of  these  converts  was  not  based  upon  some  argument,  but 
upon  their  own  experience  with  God.  Instead  of  calling 
down  fire  from  heaven  as  Elijah  did,  Wesley  convinced  men 
of  the  reality  and  the  presence  of  God  by  the  fire  that  burned 
in  their  hearts  when  they  believed  the  gospel  and  accepted 
Jesus  as  their  Saviour,  and  by  the  changed  lives  of  those 
who  were  won  to  Christ. 

Wesley  had  no  intention  of  establishing  another  Church. 
But  in  spite  of  Wesley's  plans  the  Methodist  societies  became 
Methodist  churches  and  the  Methodist  Church,  independent 
of  the  Church  of  England,  was  finally  organized.  This  de- 
nomination has  become  the  largest  in  the  world. 


61 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


Chapter  XI 
FRANCIS  MAKEMIE 

The  Presbyterian  Pioneer  in  America 
(Born  1658;  died  1708) 

We  have  been  thinking  about  Christian  leaders  in  many 
lands:  Asia  Minor,  Africa,  France,  England,  Bohemia,  Ger- 
many, Switzerland.  We  ought  to  think  also  about  the  way 
Christianity  came  to  our  own  country,  and  about  the  forces 
that  have  helped  to  make  our  country  "Christian  America." 
This  takes  us  back  to  the  days  before  John  Wesley.  We 
know  that  Virginia,  the  first  colony,  soon  had  its  churches. 
Its  ministers  belonged  to  the  Church  of  England.  The  set- 
tlers of  Massachusetts  were  Puritans,  with  their  wonderful 
Christian  faith  and  sterling  Christian  character.  Maryland 
was  settled  by  Roman  Catholics.  Pennsylvania  was  colon- 
ized by  Quakers,  or  Friends.  To  the  shores  of  America 
came  also  many  Protestants  from  France,  who  are  known 
as  Huguenots. 

Among  the  pioneers  who  dared  to  cross  the  Atlantic  in  the 
days  of  sailing  vessels,  and  to  clear  the  forest  and  build  their 
cabins,  were  Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians  who  came  to  Amer- 
ica because  of  persecution.  Their  homes  were  scattered 
through  the  forests. 

These  Scotch-Irish  settlers  brought  with  them  their  Protes- 
tant faith  and  their  Bibles.  Without  a  minister,  they  had 
their  family  worship  and  their  meetings  for  prayer  and 
meditation  upon  the  Word  of  God.  But  these  Christians, 
some  of  whom  were  elders,  longed  for  a  minister  to  preach 
and  to  administer  the  sacraments.  They  loved  the  Church 
and  its  "means  of  grace,"  as  the  ordinances  were  called. 
The  appeal  for  a  minister  was  sent  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Ireland,  and  Francis  Makemie  was  the  answer  to 
this  appeal. 

62 


FRANCIS  MAKEMIE 


ANOTHER  COLLEGE  MAN 

The  Presbyterian  Church  has  always  believed  in  an  edu- 
cated ministry.  This  is  not  surprising  when  we  remember 
that  the  Christian  leaders  about  whom  we  have  studied  were 
educated  men.  So  in  selecting  a  man  to  minister  to  the  scat- 
tered colonists  on  the  frontiers  of  America,  the  Presbytery 
of  Laggan  chose  a  man  trained  for  the  task. 

Francis  Makemie  was  born  about  1658,  almost  fifty  years 
before  John  Wesley.  When  he  was  a  boy  of  about  fourteen 
he  was  led  to  Christ  by  an  earnest  school-teacher.  He  at- 
tended the  University  of  Glasgow,  and  became  a  student  for 
the  ministry.  About  1681  he  was  licensed  to  preach.  Just 
when  he  was  ordained  is  not  known. 

PREACHING  IN  AMERICA 

Makemie  reached  America  in  1683  and  organized  his  first 
church  at  Snow  Hill,  Maryland.  This  became  the  center 
of  his  work,  but  he  extended  his  activity.  Churches  were 
organized  at  Pitts  Creek,  Manokin,  Wicomico,  and  Rehoboth. 

Makemie  was  a  real  pioneer  missionary.  For  six  years  he 
had  no  fixed  home.  Much  of  his  time  was  spent  on  horse- 
back, going  from  place  to  place  in  his  ministry.  He  lodged 
in  log  cabins,  and  preached  from  crude  pulpits.  He  ven- 
tured into  Virginia,  but  there  Governor  Berkeley  objected 
to  anyone's  preaching  except  ministers  of  the  Church  of 
England.  Tradition  says  that  Makemie's  preaching  in  Vir- 
ginia stirred  the  wrath  of  the  ministers  of  the  Established 
Church,  and  that  he  was  arrested.  But  his  appeal  to  the 
governor  was  so  convincing  that  he  was  set  at  liberty  and, 
as  a  result  of  his  argument,  the  Virginia  Legislature  after- 
wards placed  upon  the  statute  books  the  "Act  of  Toleration." 

In  order  to  avoid  interference  by  the  authorities,  although 
there  was  religious  liberty  in  Maryland  while  Lord  Balti- 
more was  in  authority,  the  new  church  building  at  Rehoboth 
was  erected  upon  Makemie's  own  land.  We  forget  that  even 
in  free  America  there  was  not  always  religious  liberty.  Even 

63 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


those  who  came  to  this  country  to  find  Hberty  to  worship 
God  in  the  way  they  thought  was  right,  were  not  always 
wiHing  to  grant  the  same  privilege  to  others.  Makemie  had 
much  to  do  with  establishing  religious  liberty  in  America. 

A  MERCHANT  PREACHER 

Makemie  paid  his  own  way  as  a  missionary.  There  is  no 
record  of  his  receiving  a  salary.  He  married  Naomi  Ander- 
son, who  inherited  considerable  money  and  land  from  her 
father.  Makemie  himself  was  a  ship  merchant.  He  was 
engaged  in  the  service  of  Christ,  and  used  his  business  to 
pay  the  expenses.  His  home  was  in  Accomac,  Virginia,  just 
below  Rehoboth,  Maryland. 

In  1704,  the  year  after  Wesley's  birth,  he  went  to  England. 
There  he  raised  money  for  the  support  of  missionaries  in 
America  and  brought  back  with  him  two  Irish  Presbyterian 
ministers,  John  Hampton  and  George  Macnish.  As  the  num- 
ber of  Presbyterian  churches  grew,  the  center  of  Presby- 
terianism  shifted  to  Philadelphia.  Largely  as  the  result 
of  the  labors  of  Makemie  the  first  presbytery  was  organized, 
in  1706,  according  to  our  calendar.  Ten  years  later  the 
churches  had  grown  so  that  the  General  Synod  was  formed, 
with  four  presbyteries.  In  1729  the  General  Synod  passed 
what  is  called  the  "Adopting  Act."  This  act  adopted  the 
Westminster  Confession  of  Faith  and  the  Larger  and  Shorter 
Catechisms  as  the  standards  for  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
America.  The  Presbyterian  Church  in  America  also  de- 
clared its  independence  of  the  authority  of  the  State  in  the 
exercise  of  ministerial  authority,  and  denied  the  power  of 
the  civil  magistrates  to  persecute  any  for  their  religion. 
Thus  the  Presbyterian  Church  was  the  first  in  America  to 
declare  the  great  principle  of  "a  free  Church  in  a  free 
State." 

A  CHAMPION  OF  RELIGIOUS  LIBERTY 

This  occurred  after  Makemie's  death,  but  he  had  much  to 
do  with  bringing  it  about.     He  traveled  from  South  Caro- 

64 


FRANCIS  MAKEMIE 


lina  to  Massachusetts  preaching.  In  1707  he  and  Hampton 
were  in  New  York,  and  he  was  asked  to  preach  to  a  group  of 
Presbyterians  of  the  city.  For  this  purpose  the  Presby- 
terians asked  for  the  use  of  the  Dutch  Church  and  then  for 
the  French  Church,  but  were  refused  by  both  because  the 
people  feared  the  governor.  Lord  Cornbury.  When  Make- 
mie  was  asked  to  preach  in  the  house  of  William  Jackson, 
he  consented.  Hampton,  also,  arranged  to  preach  on  Long 
Island.  Their  certificates  as  nonconformist  preachers 
granted  by  the  courts  of  Barbadoes,  Virginia,  and  Mary- 
land, were  to  them  sufficient  authority  for  this.  But  Make- 
mie  and  Hampton  were  arrested.  Like  Paul  they  found 
themselves  in  prison  for  the  gospel's  sake. 

In  1689  England  had  passed  the  "Act  of  Toleration,"  per- 
mitting congregations  to  worship  outside  the  Established 
Church,  but  Lord  Cornbury  said  that  this  act  did  not  apply 
to  the  colonies.  So  when  Makemie  and  Hampton  were 
brought  before  him,  he  demanded:  "How  dare  you  take  it 
upon  you  to  preach  in  my  government  without  my  license? 
None  shall  preach  in  my  government  without  it.  The  Act 
of  Toleration  does  not  extend  to  the  American  Plantations, 
but  only  to  England." 

Makemie,  however,  argued  that  the  Act  of  Toleration  did 
extend  to  the  Plantations,  and  that  his  certificate  showed  that 
he  had  conformed  to  it. 

"The  certificates  are  only  for  Virginia  and  Maryland," 
insisted  the  governor.  "The  law  was  made  against  strolling 
preachers,  and  you  are  such.  You  shall  not  spread  your 
pernicious  doctrines  here." 

But  Makemie  was  ready  to  show  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  was  not  contrary  to  the  doctrines  of  the 
Church  of  England.  Cornbury  offered  to  set  the  preachers 
at  liberty  if  they  would  give  bond  and  security  for  good 
behavior  and  pledge  themselves  to  preach  no  more  in  his 
colony. 

Makemie's  reply  was  such  as  Peter  or  Paul  might  have 

65 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


made:  "If  your  lordship  requires  it,  we  wiH  give  security  for 
our  behavior;  but  to  give  bond  and  security  to  preach  no 
more  in  your  exceHency's  government,  if  invited  and  desired 
by  any  people,  we  neither  can  nor  dare  do." 

To  prison  Hampton  and  Makemie  went.  After  a  number 
of  vain  attempts  their  release  on  habeas  corpus  was  secured 
until  the  trial  should  take  place.  At  the  trial  Makemie  ac- 
knowledged that  he  had  preached  the  gospel  as  accused, 
but  he  insisted  that  this  was  not  contrary  to  the  law.  He 
argued  his  own  case,  and  was  promptly  acquitted  by  the 
jury.  He  was,  however,  released  only  after  paying  the  costs, 
which  amounted  to  eighty-three  pounds. 

Makemie  lived  only  a  short  time  after  his  release.  It  is 
thought  that  his  imprisonment  hastened  his  death.  This  pio- 
neer of  Presbyterianism  in  America  had  not  lived  in  vain, 
for,  as  has  been  said,  he  had  much  to  do  with  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  with  securing  religious 
liberty  for  the  colonies. 


56 


WILLIAM  A.  SHEDD 


Chapter  XII 
WILLIAM  A.  SHEDD 

JFho  Gave  His  Life  for  the  Oppressed 
(Born  1869;  died  1918) 

When  word  came  to  the  Christians  of  Urumia,  Persia, 
during  the  Great  War,  that  the  Russians  were  about  to  with- 
draw, there  was  widespread  terror.  The  Turks  desired  noth- 
ing more  than  an  excuse  to  massacre  the  Christian  Armeni- 
ans and  Assyrians.  They  hated  the  Christians  with  a  bitter 
hatred,  for  everywhere  the  Christians  were  more  prosperous 
than  their  Mohammedan  neighbors,  and,  in  spite  of  persecu- 
tion, the  Christians  refused  to  renounce  their  faith  and  be- 
come followers  of  the  prophet.  The  Christians  knew  that 
the  moment  the  Russian  army  withdrew,  the  Turks  and 
Kurds  would  murder  and  rob  and  ruin. 

When  the  Russians  withdrew  the  Christians  fled.  Between 
eight  and  ten  thousand  followed  the  withdrawing  Russians. 
Probably  seventeen  thousand  refugees  rushed  for  protection 
to  the  mission  compound  in  Urumia.  Here  their  protection 
was  just  an  American  flag  and  a  band  of  Christian  mission- 
aries under  the  leadership  of  a  brave  American  citizen. 
"There  was  no  mounted  cannon,  no  armed  men.  Outside, 
the  enemy  blustered  and  threatened  and  cursed;  but  the 
American  flag  flew  between  him  and  his  prey.  He  spat  at 
it  and  made  impotent  boasts  of  what  he  would  do  if  that 
flag  were  once  out  of  the  way.  Sometimes  the  foe  were 
German-drilled  Turkish  regulars;  again  they  were  wild 
Turkish  tribesmen,  brandishing  their  weapons  and  filling  the 
air  with  their  shrill  cries." 

The  man  who  put  up  that  flag  and  dared  to  keep  it  there 
was  the  recognized  leader  to  whom  everyone  turned  in  this 
time  of  terror.  Those  who  did  not  love  him,  feared  him, 
simply  because  he  spoke  the  truth  and  stood  for  justice.  As 
he  walked  through  the  streets  of  the  city  he  was  honored  by 

67 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


high  and  low.     This  man  was  William  A.  Shedd,  a  plain 
American  missionary  who  had  gone  out  to  take  Christ  to 

Persia. 

HIS  EDUCATION 

William  Shedd  was  born  on  the  mission  field,  in  the  city 
of  Urumia,  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  Persia,  where  his 
father  and  mother  had  gone  to  carry  the  gospel.  In  this 
missionary  home  he  breathed  the  atmosphere  of  Christian 
faith  and  service,  and  as  a  boy  he  learned  the  languages  of 
the  natives. 

When  he  was  five  years  old  his  parents  returned  to  Amer- 
ica for  a  time,  where  he  received  his  schooling.  When  they 
returned  to  Persia  to  continue  their  work,  William  was  left 
in  Marietta,  Ohio,  where  he  attended  school.  At  the  age 
of  fifteen  he  entered  Marietta  College.  He  was  one  of  "The 
Hill  Crowd,"  a  group  of  unusually  brilliant  boys  who  be- 
came leaders  in  later  life.  William  was  second  in  his  class, 
a  fine  student  and  a  clear  thinker.  Often  his  understanding 
of  the  subject  and  his  clear  statements  enabled  him  to  help 
his  less  able  fellow  students. 

He  was  a  real  boy,  fond  of  sports,  full  of  fun,  but  never 
very  rugged.  After  two  years  in  college  his  family  feared 
for  his  health,  and  he  was  persuaded  to  return  to  Persia  for 
a  time.  But  his  three  years  in  Persia  were  not  vacation 
years.  He  could  not  be  idle  when  there  was  so  much  need. 
He  tutored  his  brothers,  taught  in  the  mission  school,  and 
helped  in  the  mission  work.  At  the  same  time  he  studied 
Persian  and  Syriac. 

Returning  to  America  he  graduated  from  college  in  1887. 
Again  he  went  to  Persia,  to  help  his  father.  After  two  years 
he  came  back  to  America  for  his  seminary  course  in  Prince- 
ton. His  standing  entitled  him  to  a  scholarship  in  Hebrew; 
but  he  felt  that  Persia  needed  him,  and  back  he  went  to  that 
mission  land.  This  was  in  1892,  and  for  twenty-six  years 
he  gave  the  best  that  was  in  him  to  bring  Christ  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Persia. 

68 


WILLIAM  A.  SHEDD 


A  MISSIONARY'S  WORK 
Like  the  Good  Samaritan  who  did  his  best  for  the  wounded 
man  he  found  by  the  wayside,  this  missionary  tried  to  meet 
every  need  of  the  people  of  the  land  to  which  he  gave  his 
life.  They  needed  education,  and  so  he  became  a  teacher 
and  the  president  of  the  College  of  Urumia.  In  the  outlying 
villages  churches  were  established  and  schools  organized, 
and  at  times  he  had  oversight  of  these.  Native  workers 
must  be  taught,  and  he  gave  himself  to  this  task.  Native 
preachers  must  be  trained,  and  he  became  their  theological 
professor.  Distant  tribes  must  hear  the  gospel,  so  he  rode 
over  the  mountains  among  the  terrible  Kurds  and  told  them 
the  story  of  the  Saviour.  He  acted  as  treasurer  and  man- 
aged the  mission  press  where  missionary  literature  was  pub- 
lished. 

THE  YANKEE  CADI 

And  so  it  came  about  that,  when  war  came  and  terror 
gripped  the  hearts  of  men  and  women  and  children,  all 
turned  instinctively  to  Dr.  Shedd  as  the  one  who  must  take 
command.  Speaking  in  this  country  of  their  efforts  to  de- 
fend themselves  against  the  Turks,  a  Persian  Assyrian  said, 
"The  brain  and  life  of  our  movement  was  one  single  Amer- 
ican who  we  consider  the  greatest  American  born,  the  Rev. 
W.  A.  Shedd,  and  we  owe  our  life,  those  of  us  who  have 
escaped,  to  that  man."  It  was  he  who  had  the  flag  placed 
over  the  compound  and  insisted  that,  being  a  neutral  flag — 
for  the  United  States  had  not  yet  entered  the  War — it  must 
be  respected. 

Dr.  Shedd  was  the  real  head  of  the  government  now.  Be- 
cause he  was  master  of  both  Christian  and  Mohammedan 
law,  and  understood  the  character  of  the  people,  he  had, 
since  the  death  of  Dr.  Cochran,  a  missionary,  been  acting  as 
their  cadi,  or  judge.  With  no  authority  or  power  to  enforce 
his  decisions,  his  verdict  was  respected  more  than  that  of 
the  courts,  and  his  word  was  final.  All  classes  came  to  him 
with  their  disputes  and  their  troubles. 

69 


HEROES  OF  THE  CHURCH 


One  incident  reminds  us  of  the  wisdom  of  Solomon.  A 
young  man  complained  to  Dr.  Shedd  that  another  had  stolen 
his  shoes.  Both  were  summoned  before  him.  "Where  did 
you  get  your  shoes?"  he  asked  the  man  who  claimed  that 
his  shoes  had  been  stolen.  "In  Chicago,"  he  replied,  nam- 
ing the  firm.  Then  to  the  other  man,  he  said,  "Where  did 
you  get  yours?"  "My  brother  bought  them  for  me  from  a 
Russian  soldier,  who  brought  them  from  Russia,"  the  man 
replied.  "Let  me  see  the  shoes,"  Dr.  Shedd  commanded. 
In  them  he  found  the  trade-mark  of  the  Chicago  merchant. 
The  shoes  were  then  returned  to  the  rightful  owner,  and  the 
thief  was  put  to  open  shame. 

Dr.  Shedd  tried  to  unite  all  interests  in  the  support  of  or- 
der and  justice.  He  dared  to  walk  the  streets  alone  and 
face  the  officers  of  the  enemy.  In  an  effort  to  enlist  the 
help  of  all  in  the  protection  of  the  refugees,  he  talked  with 
Turkish  authorities,  he  visited  influential  Mohammedans, 
and  he  kept  in  touch  with  the  Kurdish  chiefs.  He  super- 
vised the  distribution  of  relief  with  sympathy  and  yet  with 
a  shrewdness  and  firmness  that  made  it  next  to  impossible 
to  impose  upon  him. 

One  day  the  Persian  governor  said  to  him,  "The  great 
difference  between  you  and  us  is  that  you  depend  upon  the 
truth  to  accomplish  a  purpose  and  we  depend  upon  a  lie." 

Dr.  Shedd  was  a  lover  of  peace.  He  hated  the  idea  of  war 
and  stood  for  the  principle  of  fighting  only  when  attacked. 


HIS  LAST  JOURNEY 

During  1915,  Dr.  Shedd  came  to  America,  but  the  follow- 
ing year  he  returned  to  his  work  in  Urumia  and  its  respon- 
sibilities. Months  of  stress  began  to  tell  upon  his  health 
and  it  was  feared  that  he  was  going  down  with  tuberculosis, 
with  which  he  had  previously  been  threatened.  The  de- 
fenders of  the  refugees  had  no  touch  with  the  outside  world. 
They  did  not  know  when  they  might  hope  for  deliverance 
by  the  arrival  of  the  British  Army.     Then  one  day  an  air- 

70 


WILLIAM  A.  SHEDD 


plane  brought  word  that  in  three  weeks  the  British  Army 
would  arrive.  "But  can  I  hold  out  for  three  weeks?"  asked 
Dr.  Shedd,  weary  from  the  long  struggle. 

The  refugees  could  endure  the  strain  no  longer.  They 
felt  that  they  must  run  to  the  approaching  British  forces  for 
safety.  Dr.  Shedd  urged  the  people  to  wait;  but  the  flight 
began  like  a  stampede,  and  the  massacring  Turks  followed. 
Dr.  Shedd  followed,  also,  to  render  what  service  he  could 
to  the  suff'ering  fugitives.  A  British  camp  was  reached,  but 
they  had  to  press  on,  for  there  were  not  enough  soldiers  to 
hold  back  the  pursuing  Turks. 

Dr.  Shedd  fell  sick,  and  while  they  were  trying  to  take 
him  over  the  rough  mountain  trail  in  a  cart  his  life  journey 
came  to  an  end.  With  a  blanket  and  the  canvas  from  the 
cart  for  a  shroud  and  casket,  he  was  laid  in  a  shallow  grave. 
When  word  was  passed  along  that  Dr.  Shedd  was  gone,  a 
great  cry  went  up  from  the  fugitives:  "What  shall  we  do? 
Our  father  is  gone,  our  back  is  broken,  there  is  not  one  left 
on  earth  to  help  us.  Would  that  half  our  nation  had  died 
and  he  had  been  left." 


71 


Date  Due 

F  B^'/is 

. 

FE2   -53 

f£  18-53 

ft'-  ■- 

^ 

^mm^. 


